


Bloodlust

by Namira (lethargy)



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF everyone, Everyone Wants Ichigo, Incest, M/M, Obsession, Possessive Behavior, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Assault, Sibling Incest, Twincest, Uke Ichigo, that's not how you make friends, wtf Grimmjow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-05
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-08-29 04:27:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8475289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lethargy/pseuds/Namira
Summary: AU. Traveling warrior Grimmjow meets a beautiful young man and decides to take what he wants.Unfortunately for him, the pretty stranger isn't the only thing that lurks in the woods...





	1. Chapter 1

The boy was sitting cross-legged by the edge of the river, using a small knife to expertly skin a rabbit. Even uncooked, the sight of fresh meat made Grimmjow's mouth water. He hadn't eaten in days, and that lump of flesh looked like a feast to his starving gaze. 

His first instinct was to cut the boy down where he sat, but self-preservation stayed his hand. The boy had to have come from somewhere, which meant there was probably a village nearby. There would be more food at the village, if he could force the boy to lead him there. More importantly, maybe someone would be able to tell him how to get out of the fucking woods. Much as he'd hate to admit it, he was hopelessly lost. 

Slowly and carefully, Grimmjow crept out from the treeline and toward the oblivious young man. The light from the setting sun gleamed like a halo in his long orange hair, such an unusual color. A twig snapped under Grimmjow's foot. 

With surprisingly fast reflexes, the boy shot to his feet and spun around to face the point of Grimmjow's sword. Grimmjow bared his teeth and narrowed his eyes intimidatingly, but when he opened his mouth to demand the location of the nearest village his throat went tight and his voice came out in a croak. His face went slack and his sword wavered in his grip. His stomach clenched and his heart started pounding almost violently; he could feel it in his chest. 

The boy was in his late teens or early 20's, several inches shorter than Grimmjow with a slender frame. His skin was flawless and lightly tanned, and Grimmjow wanted to run his hands over it to see if it was as soft as it looked. He was slightly androgynous with full lips and and an angular facial structure, but something about the line of his jaw was undeniably masculine. He looked wary and surprised but his expression was strangely devoid of fear, and his eyes were the color of warm honey. 

He was the most beautiful thing that Grimmjow had ever seen. 

For a few moments they simply stared at each other, and then Grimmjow cleared his throat and tried again. "What's your name?" he asked in as steady a voice as he could manage. 

The boy's lips pressed together anxiously. Grimmjow wanted to bite them until they bled, to kiss them until they were swollen and bruised. 

"What's yours?" the boy retorted. He tilted his head defiantly, heat sparking in his gaze. 

Grimmjow wasn't sure when his dick had gotten hard, but it was suddenly aching as if it had been replaced by a steel rod. 

"Jaegerjaques Grimmjow," he said hoarsely. 

The boy held his gaze for a few more moments, studying him carefully as if unconcerned by the threat of his blade. Finally he spat out, "Kurosaki Ichigo. Now tell me why you're pointing a sword at my chest." 

"Kurosaki Ichigo," breathed Grimmjow almost reverently. The boy took a small step back, and Grimmjow's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword as he lifted it threateningly. "And where did you come from, Kurosaki Ichigo?" 

The boy frowned at him uncertainly. "What?" 

"Your village," said Grimmjow. "How far is it?" 

Ichigo's frown deepened. "The nearest village is over ten miles away. I don't live there, but I can tell you how to get there if that's what you want." 

"I'm asking where _you_ came from," Grimmjow insisted. 

"None of your fucking business!" Ichigo snapped, glaring at him like he wanted to light him on fire. 

Something about the way fury lit up those amber eyes made Grimmjow's heart stutter in his chest. Embarrassingly, he felt his cheeks heat in a blush. "Tell me, Ichigo," he went on, trying to ignore the little thrill he got from addressing the boy so familiarly, "what could a young man like yourself be doing in the woods all alone, so far from the nearest village? This is a long way to go just to hunt." He tilted his head consideringly. "You don't look like a traveler. Worn clothing, no pack..." His gaze dropped down to run over the ragged yukata covering the boy's slender form. It was threadbare and had been patched many times with what looked like animal skin. Most tellingly, he wore no shoes and his feet looked filthy as if he had not worn any for some time. "You live out here, don't you?" He stepped closer, almost pressing his blade against the boy's neck. "Tell me, Ichigo," he said again, "are you alone out here?" 

He stared directly into the boy's molten gaze and purred, "If you scream, will anyone hear?" 

"My brother," Ichigo replied, expression tense but still untainted by fear. 

Grimmjow wanted to see him _tremble_. 

"I don't believe you," he said, smirking. It didn't matter either way; if anyone showed up he was sure he could handle it. He started to take another step forward when suddenly a wet ball of fur and flesh smacked into his face and he reeled back in surprise. It took him only moments to grab the bloody, half-skinned rabbit and fling it to the side, but by then the boy had bolted across the river and was halfway to the trees on the other side. 

Grimmjow growled and shoved his sword back into its sheath as he took pursuit, his hunger forgotten. The only thought on his mind was that he couldn't let that beautiful creature get away. 

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he raced through the woods. Grimmjow was a born predator, and the only thing he liked better than chasing down prey was cornering it and forcing it to fight for its life. However, he didn't think he'd be running this prey through with his _sword_... 

The boy was fast and was clearly familiar with the terrain, but Grimmjow was an experienced hunter and his strength was enough that he could often plow directly through obstacles rather than go around them. When the boy tripped in his panic Grimmjow was on him in seconds, crashing into him as he scrambled back to his feet. Ichigo recovered quickly and tried to stab him with the knife he still held, but Grimmjow jerked back just in time and grabbed onto his wrist before squeezing the bones together until he dropped the knife. Grimmjow snatched it up and threw it off to the side, then used his free arm to restrain Ichigo's other wrist. He pulled the boy's arms together behind his back, bare feet kicking at him savagely as he scrambled forward until he was straddling the boy's waist and then dropped his weight to pin him to the ground. 

Ichigo bucked up under him, trying to throw him off, but he only tightened his grip and forced him down until his face was shoved into the dirt. Throughout the chase his erection had never gone down, and the way it was now being stimulated by the younger man's desperate attempts to get away felt so good that he couldn't help but growl hungrily and grind down against him. 

Ichigo froze. 

With effort, he lifted his head and looked over his shoulder to glare at Grimmjow incredulously. " _Seriously_?" he said with disgust. 

Never before had Grimmjow been tempted to subjugate his prey in this manner, but something about this lovely young man made him want to dominate him utterly. 

"Don't worry, beautiful," Grimmjow purred, putting more of his weight onto the boy's arms as he bent down to bury his nose in tangled yet silky hair. "So long as you're good for me, I'm not gonna hurt you." His hair smelled sweet and musky, a complicated scent unique to him and deeply appealing. "...Much," he amended. He licked the side of the boy's face, almost whimpering at the taste of his skin. 

"Oh hell no," Ichigo spat, struggling under him with renewed effort. He thrashed with such force that one of his arms was torn from Grimmjow's grasp and ragged fingernails clawed across his face. Grimmjow cursed and jerked back before those grasping fingers could find his eyes. He shifted his weight and suddenly rolled the pretty redhead onto his back before catching both wrists and squeezing them hard enough to bruise. He stretched out over the boy's body and pinned his arms over his head. 

Grimmjow forced himself between Ichigo's legs, foiling the boy's frantic attempts to kick him away. He grinned ferally and pressed himself against the warm body beneath him. He was much bigger than Ichigo in both height and muscle mass, so when he lay his full weight onto him it was enough to still his desperate struggles almost entirely. 

Every inch of his skin was tingling where it pressed against his prey's. The creature beneath him felt so soft and so warm, heated and sweaty from his exertions. He was panting with difficulty, his lungs being somewhat compressed by Grimmjow's weight, and as the older man looked into his eyes the scorching glare leveled at him went straight to his cock. 

"Bad boy," he said huskily. He carefully transferred Ichigo's wrists into one hand, freeing the other to grab the boy's jaw and turn his head to the side. "You're just begging for me to punish you, aren't you?" he growled into his ear before moving down to lick and nip at his vulnerable throat. 

"I will fucking kill you!" the boy snarled, and Grimmjow couldn't help but snicker at the absurdity of his threat. 

"You want to," he said softly, breathing the words into the place where neck met jaw. "You want to fight me so badly you're shaking with it. You would plunge your hand into my chest and tear my heart out if you could, wouldn't you?" He inhaled deeply, savoring the boy's scent. 

"Without hesitation," Ichigo grit out, squirming in a futile attempt to move away. 

Grimmjow ground against him again and Ichigo stilled, his breath hitching ever so slightly. The older man grinned savagely against his skin. "Well," he purred, "you're welcome to try." 

He lifted himself up again to look the boy in the face. It was still flushed and twisted with rage, and Grimmjow locked gazes with him as he let go of Ichigo's chin and slid his hand lower until it reached the tie of his yukata. The knotted fabric proved difficult to untie, so after a few moments he got frustrated and simply yanked it hard enough to tear it apart. 

He pulled the sides of the yukata open and took a moment to simply drink in the sight of the young man's naked chest. It was hairless and lightly muscled, and he had a slender waist that curved out into hips slightly wider than one usually saw on a man. He ran his fingertips over smooth skin and felt it shudder in response. 

His gaze flicked back up to Ichigo's face. The boy was glaring at him so condemningly that he almost felt guilty, but Grimmjow had never had much of a conscience and he batted aside the impulse as easily as it had come. He moved his hand lower and grasped the boy's cock experimentally. He had never touched another man before in this manner, but when the boy's blush deepened and spread down his chest he wanted to keep touching him there until he was hard and squirming with arousal. He was more interested in the part below that, however, so he let go and slid his hand into the gap between Ichigo's skin and the yukata that was still pooled around him. He jerked the boy's hips up off the ground and cupped the pleasantly large ass his clothes had been hiding. 

He pressed Ichigo's hips into his stomach and slid his hand around until he could press a dry finger against the boy's hole. Abruptly he considered that he might need some kind of lube for this to work, but the younger man was starting to struggle again and he set the thought aside as he was forced to tighten his grip. The boy was much stronger than his slender frame would suggest. 

"Wh-what the hell?" Ichigo yelped. "The fuck is the matter with you? Stay away from there!" 

Grimmjow cocked his head to the side, taking in the boy's unease with amusement. "I have to work you open before I fuck you or I'll tear you apart. At least, that's what I've heard." He leaned closer until their faces were almost touching and admitted, "I've never done it with a man before. I never really saw the appeal, to be honest. But you, you were made for this, weren't you? You're just begging for a cock in your ass-" 

Suddenly his vision went white with pain, and as his eyes teared up he dimly realized that the boy had headbutted him. His grasp loosened involuntarily as he reared back, and when Ichigo abruptly bucked up again while yanking his arms down he lost it entirely. A fist slammed into his face so hard it nearly stunned him all over again, but Grimmjow had taken a lot of hits in his day and he was able to recover fast enough to grab Ichigo's wrist as it retreated. He lost his grip again in the next moment when Ichigo twisted his hips up far enough to draw back one leg and kick him in the chest. 

Grimmjow was knocked back on his ass, but he ignored the pain and lunged forward to yank the boy's ankle before he could finish scrambling to his feet. "No!" Ichigo shouted as he was dragged back. 

Trying to regain his hold on violently flailing limbs was an exercise in frustration, and after taking several glancing hits he closed his hand around the boy's neck and jerked him up before savagely biting into his shoulder to hold him in place. 

He heard Ichigo scream in pain as blood flooded his mouth, and he was suddenly hit with a wave of euphoria so strong his deflated erection came back full force. Grimmjow was no stranger to the taste of blood, but Ichigo's blood tasted odd somehow. It tasted ... it tasted _powerful_. He swallowed it hungrily, feeling strength flood his limbs and light up his nerves like they were on fire. He bit down harder and pressed the warm body against him tightly as he started to thrust against it like an animal in heat. Those ragged fingernails bit into his arms, but he barely felt it under the force of the lust raging through his body. He wanted to _devour_ this creature. He wanted to- 

Something heavy crashed into him, sending both him and Ichigo skidding across the ground. Grimmjow released his hold on the boy entirely and spun to face the new threat, but he caught only a glimpse of white hair and yellow eyes before a hand closed around his throat and lifted him off the ground. Too-sharp fingernails bit into his skin and he could feel the blood running down his neck as his back slammed into a tree. 

Grimmjow closed his hands around the arm keeping him pinned but was unable to force it away. The constriction around his throat made black spots swim in his vision, but he was able to focus enough to see that the creature attacking him had silver-white hair and skin nearly as pale with a mouth full of pointed teeth. The thing that made his heart nearly stop in his chest were the yellow eyes that seemed to be glowing in the dim light of the forest. 

The creature bared its teeth at him and _roared_ , and for the first time in his life Grimmjow felt truly afraid. 

He used the leverage afforded to him by his grip on the creature's arm and pulled his legs up before thrusting them into its chest with all the force he could muster. Its claws left deep gouges in his neck as they tore away, but he ignored the pain and scrambled back to his feet even as he struggled to draw in air through his bruised trachea. He unsheathed his sword and brought it up in front of him just in time to run the creature through as it lunged at him again. 

Its glowing eyes widened in surprise, but before he could twist the blade it dug its claws into his sword arm and yanked so sharply his shoulder dislocated with a pop. His arm went dead so he braced his back against the tree and gave the creature another bruising kick to make it let go of him. 

He slid around the tree and staggered back a few steps, breath coming in painful, ragged pants. Blood was running down the creature's stomach in rivulets, but it stayed on its feet and put both its hands around the blade before starting to slowly pull it out. 

Grimmjow saw movement in the corner of his eye, and he glanced to the side where Ichigo was still sprawled out on the ground. He was watching the scene with a somewhat horrified expression, but when he saw Grimmjow looking at him his eyes narrowed and his expression hardened. 

"Run," he growled, and Grimmjow's gaze swung back to his opponent just as the creature finished drawing his sword out of its chest and threw it to the side. It bared its teeth at him and lunged forward again, faster than any human man. Grimmjow leapt back with all the speed he could muster, but the creature still managed to graze him with its claws and carve deep furrows into his chest. It crouched low to the ground and raised its head to let out another piercing howl. 

Grimmjow ran. 

Despite his many injuries, he had never run so fast. The strange energy he'd felt while drinking Ichigo's blood was still thrumming through his veins, dulling the pain of his wounds and burning away any hint of exhaustion. He could hear the beast crashing through the forest behind him, hot on his heels. 

Blood ran steadily from his neck and chest, and he knew that he couldn't let this chase go on for very long. He didn't think he could fight the creature head on and walk way from it, especially without a weapon. He tried to come up with a plan, any plan, but it was hard to think while running for his life and he kept coming up with nothing. 

Suddenly he realized that he could see sky through the trees, and he came to a halt only inches away from the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep ravine. He swore and spun around only for a hand to close around his already damaged throat. 

Clawed fingers bit into his flesh once more as the beast stepped forward and lifted him into the air until his feet hovered over the terrifying expanse of open space leading to the bottom of the ravine. Its golden eyes were narrowed at him in unadulterated rage, and the very air around it felt frigid with malevolent intent. Its features were oddly similar to Ichigo's, he noticed hazily, although the lines of its face were more masculine and it was a few inches taller with a somewhat heavier build. 

It glared at him poisonously, and Grimmjow realized that he was going to die. 

It growled lowly and then surprised Grimmjow by suddenly pulling him closer and biting into his shoulder. Grimmjow let out a strangled scream as sharp teeth ripped into his flesh. His mind flashed back to a few minutes earlier when he'd done the same thing to Ichigo, but he set the thought aside to revisit if he survived. What the hell was this thing? It seemed to have attacked him in defense of the pretty redhead, but why? He vaguely remembered Ichigo saying that he had a brother, but it seemed unlikely that such a beautiful creature could have been spawned from the same seed as this monster. It was drinking his blood in big, hungry swallows, and he could feel the energy he had taken from Ichigo being drawn out of him like water draining from a hole in a bucket. Alarm bells were going off in his mind, his body warning him futilely that something was very wrong, but it was becoming hard to focus and he could feel his heartbeat starting to slow. 

For a few seconds he could hear nothing but the sick sounds of the monster gulping down his blood, but then he heard Ichigo's voice call from far away. The creature paused and released his shoulder so it could glance back into the woods, and Grimmjow summoned the last of his strength and slammed the sole of his foot into its left knee. It yelped and let go of his neck as it tried not to fall over. 

Grimmjow fell several feet and desperately tried to grab onto the edge of the cliff, but he had been badly weakened by exertion and blood loss and days of hunger before that. His one good arm scraped against the ground for a few brief moments, but he was unable to find purchase and he slipped off the edge into open sky. 

The last thing he saw before he hit the ground was the monster's glowing yellow eyes staring down at him. 

***** 

When Grimmjow woke up it was morning, and his whole body felt like one big ache. 

He prodded gingerly at the wounds on his chest, but they had already closed and he blessed his ability to heal quickly. Without it he would surely have died during the night. He was very lucky he hadn't died anyway. 

He tried to roll over, but many bones felt broken and he aborted the attempt with a groan of pain. 

That was okay. He could wait. He would wait until he had healed enough to walk and then he would find a way out of this cursed forest and then he would make his way back to civilization. He would get stronger and then he would return, and this time he would be prepared. 

He was going to tear that monster to pieces with his bare hands, and then he was going to find that beautiful boy it had been protecting and fuck him until he couldn't walk anymore. 

For all that he was injured so badly that he couldn't stand, Grimmjow couldn't prevent a silly grin from spreading across his face. He had been beaten nearly to death, he had been forced to run from a fight for the first time in his life, and he still didn't have anything to eat. And yet, for the first time he could recall, he was truly happy. 

Jaegerjaques Grimmjow was in love, and one way or another he was going to claim his prize. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a pretty good response to this story so I wrote some more. Thanks for the comments and kudos!
> 
> In case it isn't clear in this chapter, Shiro and Ichigo are fraternal twins.

"Shiro!" he called once more, trying to will his rapidly beating heart to slow. His blood was still flooded with adrenaline, and a hard knot of anxiety had formed in his stomach the second he'd watched his twin chase the stranger deeper into the woods. 

It was getting dark, and Ichigo nearly stumbled several times in his rush. Shiro was tough, but he wasn't invincible. His injuries had been severe - Ichigo increased his pace as the memory of the stranger's sword piercing his brother's chest flashed through his mind. He needed to find him. 

Long seconds went by with no sign of his twin so he called again, and this time his fervent prayers were answered. He could hear the familiar sound of his brother running toward him, and he breathed out a long sigh of relief. He could tell that something was wrong, though, and when Shiro came into view he saw that he was glistening with sweat and seemed to be favoring his left leg. The wound on his stomach was still bleeding sluggishly, and although the blood smearing his mouth suggested he'd fed he looked even paler than usual. 

His brother slowed as he reached him and immediately reached out to pull him into his arms. "Tell me that you're okay," Shiro demanded, embracing him tightly before tugging his yukata down to examine the nasty bite mark on his shoulder. "Son of a fucking bitch," he hissed, and Ichigo winced as he prodded the wound. 

"I'll be fine. What happened? Did you kill him?" 

"Much too quickly for my liking," growled Shiro. He swayed and put his hands on Ichigo's arms to steady himself. "I think something was wrong with his blood. Tasted weird..." 

Ichigo's concern came flooding back. "What do you mean?" 

Rather than answering, Shiro stumbled back a few steps and fell to his hands and knees before vomiting violently. Blood splattered to the ground in alarming amounts. 

"Shiro!" Ichigo yelped in alarm. He knelt down and put his arms around his brother, holding back his long white hair so it wouldn't get soaked with filth. 

He didn't know what to do. He had never seen Shiro get sick before. Long seconds went by as he continued to retch, but finally his convulsions ceased and he collapsed to his side while panting raggedly. 

"What the fuck," muttered Ichigo, gently running his fingers through Shiro's hair. "Do you feel better now?" 

"Fucking fantastic," his brother drawled weakly. 

"You need to feed," he said, his gaze flicking back to the awful wound piercing Shiro from back to front. The spasms that had wracked his body had done nothing to improve its condition. "You lost a lot of blood." 

"Fuck," said Shiro, rolling onto his back and reaching up to trace the hamburger meat that had become of his shoulder. "I can't ... he hurt you bad, King. I should have gotten there sooner, fuck, I'm so sorry." 

"Hey, hey," Ichigo shushed him while pushing his hand back down. He buried his fingers in Shiro's hair and looked deep into his eyes. "It's not your fault," he said firmly. "Right now I've gotta make sure you don't bleed out, so I need you to feed from me, okay? I'll be alright. You know I'm a fast healer." 

Shiro looked conflicted. "You're so pale, King ... I can't..." 

"Look who's talking," he teased, smirking faintly. He pushed his forearm against Shiro's mouth. "It's okay. Come on." 

Shiro hesitated for a long moment, but at last he closed his eyes and carefully bit down. Ichigo grit his teeth at the pain of sharp fangs piercing his flesh, but he kept still and went back to stroking his brother's hair as his blood was drained one swallow at a time. 

After a while he started feeling sleepy and cold, so he gently pulled his arm away. Shiro growled and tried to hold him in place for a few seconds, but then he seemed to come back to himself and he let go. Ichigo lay down next to him and curled up into his side. 

"Better?" he said quietly, trying to ignore the unpleasant way his heart throbbed as it weakly tried to circulate the little blood he had left. 

"Yeah," murmured Shiro. "Just tired." He wrapped an arm around his brother and pulled him closer. "Who the hell was that guy?" he wondered drowsily, but Ichigo's vision was darkening so he closed his eyes and let himself slide into unconsciousness. 

His last thoughts were of the vibrant, almost unnatural hue of the stranger's bright blue eyes. He had stared at Ichigo with such intensity, a creepy sort of intensity like a starving dog preparing to tear into a juicy steak. 

Ichigo was glad he was dead. 

***** 

Sunlight was burning against the backs of Shiro's eyelids, so he frowned and turned his face to bury himself in Ichigo's tangled hair. At some point during the night his twin had rolled onto his side and Shiro had cuddled up behind him in their preferred sleeping position. He nuzzled the back of his brother's neck and pressed his hips into his ass, rubbing up against him sleepily. 

He wrapped his arm more securely around his brother's waist and started to thrust more intently as he hardened, but suddenly Ichigo went tense and elbowed him in the ribs hard enough to bruise. Shiro cursed and relaxed his grip as his brother scrambled away. 

"What the fuck?" he whined, opening his eyes and pressing a hand to his aching flesh. 

For a moment Ichigo glared at him with wild eyes that almost seemed to be looking through him. However, he quickly calmed and took a couple of deep breaths while pressing a hand to his face. "Sorry. I just - not today, okay?" 

Shiro's eyes narrowed in concern. He rolled to his feet and took a couple steps forward to crouch down in front of his twin. The tie to Ichigo's yukata was missing and it had fallen open, revealing a number of bruises that still hadn't completely faded. His shoulder had healed a lot during the night, but Shiro knew that it must still be painful. Some of the bruises were in strange places, and he pressed his lips together uneasily. 

He grasped Ichigo's wrist and gently pulled it away from his face. "King ... what the hell happened last night?" he asked softly, though he was almost afraid to hear the answer. "What the fuck did he do to you?" 

Ichigo wouldn't look him in the eye. "He ... I don't know what he was doing here. I was sitting by the river and he took me by surprise ... he wanted to know which village I came from. When I tried to run, he attacked me. He ... he wanted to..." His brother sighed and shut his eyes. "Well, it doesn't matter now." 

"He touched you," said Shiro, vaguely recalling the position he'd found them in right before his vision had blackened with rage. 

Ichigo stayed silent and didn't look at him, so Shiro decided to let the topic drop for now. He pulled his twin closer and started lapping at the dried blood on his shoulder, gently cleaning the healing wound. When he was done he sat back on his heels and frowned at his brother thoughtfully. 

"I've never seen another person bite someone like that before. And after I drank his blood, I got almost as sick as you did that time you tried mine. Do you think..." He bit his lip anxiously and looked up into his brother's eyes. "...Do you think that he was like me?" 

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What? Fuck, no." He reached out and pulled Shiro closer until their foreheads touched. "He was really strong - stronger than anyone I've ever met other than you, probably - but he wasn't anything like you. He was..." Ichigo bit his lip. 

"He was human," Shiro finished the thought. 

"...He wasn't like you," Ichigo said again. His twin had never liked the idea that they might not be completely human, but to Shiro the thought had become a comfort. All the humans he'd met had been nasty creatures, two-faced and quick to fear. Shiro was glad that he wasn't one of them. 

***** 

They backtracked their way to the place where Ichigo had been attacked and picked through the underbrush until they found the knife Ichigo had lost. The tie to his yukata had been ripped in two, but that wasn't the first time it had torn and Ichigo just knotted it back together. 

They weren't sure what they wanted to do with the sword. Just looking at it made Ichigo feel sick, his mind being bombarded with memories of the attack. He didn't want to admit that to Shiro, however, so when his brother said that he wanted to keep it Ichigo didn't protest. 

He did, however, insist that they start heading toward the mountains. They had already stayed in this area longer than they usually stayed in any one place, and though they had been unable to steal many supplies from the nearby villages in recent weeks Ichigo was eager to retreat further from civilization. Shiro thought it was a good idea because he was concerned that more men might follow the stranger into their territory, but in truth Ichigo didn't think that was very likely. The man hadn't mentioned having any companions, and he had a hunch that he wouldn't be missed. 

Honestly, he just really didn't want to stick around in the place where he'd nearly been raped. 

It took him several days to work up the courage to ask the question, and when he did it was exactly as awkward as he'd feared. 

"Shiro..." he started, and his brother glanced back at him curiously and slowed his pace so they were walking side by side. "Back when ... when that guy..." He cleared his throat. "When he ... when he attacked me, he said that ... that he wanted to..." 

His face had gone bright red, and he knew that he had Shiro's full attention. 

"What is it, King?" his twin prompted gently, though a dark shadow passed over his face at the reminder of what had happened. 

"He said he was going to put his ... his..." Ichigo glanced up at his brother nervously, desperately wishing that he hadn't opened his mouth. "You know. In my ass." 

Shiro stopped walking and stared at him with his mouth hanging slightly open. 

"In your _ass?_ " 

"Yeah. That's not, like, a _thing_ , is it?" 

Shiro frowned and scratched the back of his head. "I dunno. I know about as much about that stuff as you do." 

"I guess," he said, deflating a bit with disappointment. "I don't know. He was probably just a pervert." 

"That piece of shit was definitely some kind of pervert," agreed Shiro, "but ... hm." 

He raised an eyebrow. " _'Hm'?_ " 

"It's just, that's a pretty interesting idea, don't ya think? I don't know, maybe we should give it a try." 

Ichigo glared at him. "Oh, fuck off." 

"No, King, I'm serious," insisted Shiro, slinking closer and putting his hands on his brother's hips. "What's the worst that could happen? If it isn't working we can just stop." 

"Gross," said Ichigo with disgust, shoving his hand into Shiro's face to push him away. "I'm not letting you put anything in my ass! Besides, wouldn't that be kind of like, you know, sex?" 

Shiro looked at him oddly. "I don't see what the big deal is; we've done everything else." 

"I guess, but that's not ... that's just ... that's not _sex_. I didn't even think two guys could _have_ sex. Besides, you're my brother for fuck's sake!" 

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Shiro, looking almost offended. 

"So I'm not fucking my own brother!" 

" _Why not?_ " 

Ichigo tangled his fingers in his hair and squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. "Because I don't want to, okay? Just let it go." 

He dropped his hands and continued walking, trusting that his brother would follow. 

Shiro's eyes glittered dangerously as he watched him walk away. 

***** 

It had been over two weeks now since Ichigo had been attacked, and Shiro felt like he was losing his mind. The thought of that filthy human's hands on him, touching him in places that only Shiro had ever touched ... even though the asshole was dead, every time he thought about it he wanted to scream. 

Worse still was the desire that Ichigo's admission had stirred in him, the knowledge of what that man had wanted to do. Most of what Shiro knew about sex he had pieced together on his own, and he had never considered that it might be possible to do it like _that_. 

The thing was, Ichigo had a perfect ass. Like, almost unnaturally perfect. Shiro loved his brother's ass, and the thought of doing _that_ to it, of actually being _inside_ Ichigo was ... there were no words. 

Each time he had tried to bring up the subject, Ichigo had shot him down. Each time, he seemed to get a little more irritated and took a little longer to sooth. For whatever reason, Ichigo just wasn't open to the idea. Shiro didn't think he had felt this frustrated since he'd been a child, the strange little boy who had never quite fit in with the other children. Growing up in that village had been hell, but this was on a whole nother level. 

Every morning he woke up hard and aching from dreams that he couldn't quite recall, but Ichigo was insistent that they stay on the move to get over the mountains before winter set in and rarely gave in to his pleas for intimacy. He had also become strangely hesitant to let Shiro pleasure him in return. Shiro was starting to worry that the assault his twin had endured had really fucked him up. 

He regretted killing the human so quickly. He should have drawn it out longer, made him truly suffer for touching what was his. 

He couldn't help but mourn for the lost opportunity. 

***** 

Grimmjow had never been particularly ambitious. He had joined Aizen's band of outlaws because Aizen was powerful and gave him plenty of opportunities to wet his blade, but he had never really wanted to rise any farther in the ranks than he already had. Getting promoted would mean joining Aizen's inner circle, the infamous Espada, and that wasn't something he'd ever planned to do. 

When he'd joined the Numeros, the elite among Aizen's forces second only to the Espada, he'd been injected with something that had made him violently ill for several days. He'd enjoyed the enhanced speed, strength, and regenerative abilities he'd acquired afterward, but he wasn't exactly keen to repeat the experience. Besides, the process you had to go through to become an Espada was said to be much more intense. No one was sure exactly what it involved, but after accepting an offer into Aizen's inner circle people would disappear for days or even weeks and when they came back they were always ... _changed_. It wasn't just the physical enhancements; they acted different, too. And some people never came back. 

Grimmjow didn't want to change. He was fine with who he was, and he could crush most opponents so easily it was almost boring. He had never felt like he needed to be any stronger ... until now, that is. 

He needed to go back to that forest, he needed to find Ichigo again. However, the thought of facing off against that creature once more ... it evoked a sort of primal terror in his gut, and he didn't like the feeling. He didn't like it at all. 

He needed to get strong enough to defeat the beast, for both his own peace of mind and for the prize he intended to collect, and if that meant risking his life and his sanity in an attempt to become more than human ... well, he was sure it'd all be worth it in the end. He believed that he could endure pretty much anything if it would end with that gorgeous young man in his bed. 

"You were gone longer than expected," said Aizen. The man was shorter than him by about half an inch, but he always seemed to tower over the people around him. Of course, it didn't help that Grimmjow was on his knees. It rankled to cater to the other man's need to make every warrior under his command feel the weight of his control, but Aizen was one man who Grimmjow never wanted to piss off. 

"I was injured on my way back," he explained. "It took me a few weeks to recover enough to return." 

"I see," said Aizen, his lips pressing together as if he were displeased. Aizen's displeasure could be a dangerous thing. "And what of the traitor Luppi?" 

"Dead," Grimmjow replied. "He was half-mad by the time I found him, so he wasn't much of a challenge. He managed to kill my fraccion before I could finish him off, though." 

"Good," said Aizen, and the knot of tension that had been building in his chest released. Aizen was pleased with him. Perhaps that meant that he would listen to his request. 

"Luppi didn't respond well to the gift I gave him," Aizen mused. "He was weak. I do not tolerate weakness within my ranks. You understand, don't you, Grimmjow?" 

"I understand perfectly," Grimmjow agreed. "Aizen-sama, if I may ... in lieu of a reward, I'd like to make a request." He chose his words carefully, knowing that one misstep here could cost him everything. Aizen demanded absolute respect, and his favors were never free. 

"You may make a request, but I cannot guarantee I will grant it. But by all means, go ahead," allowed Aizen, regarding him with cool interest. 

"I want to take Luppi's place. I want to join the Espada." 

Aizen was silent for several seconds, and Grimmjow's heart pounded anxiously in the interim. He knew in his gut that this was a moment that would determine the course of the rest of his life. 

"You have been offered a position in the Espada before," he said finally. "What changed your mind?" 

"I encountered a strange beast in the forests to the north," answered Grimmjow, knowing that with Aizen honesty was usually the best policy. "It was more powerful than any normal creature ... it nearly killed me, and if I tried to fight it again as I am now, I think it would succeed." He dared to look up into Aizen's eyes, letting his master see the strength of his resolve. "I want to get stronger so I can destroy it." 

"What sort of beast?" asked Aizen curiously. 

"Fuck if I know, but it sure as hell wasn't human," said Grimmjow, tacking on a belated "Aizen-sama" in case his master thought he was being too informal. 

"Describe it." 

"It looked like a man, but its hair and skin was white. It had claws and fangs and glowing yellow eyes." Grimmjow shrugged. "It acted like an animal, but I think it was protecting the person I attacked right before it showed up. After I kill the beast I want to take him as a slave," he added, figuring he might as well start staking his claim now. 

Aizen went quiet again, examining him contemplatively. Then he said, "Very well," and Grimmjow's heart jumped. 

"Thank you, Aizen-sama," he said respectfully, concealing his glee to be let out in a more appropriate locale. 

"Report to Aporro Szayel tomorrow at dawn. Bring nothing." 

Grimmjow nodded in assent and stood to leave. 

"Oh, and Grimmjow," added Aizen, "do not fail me. I would hate for you to meet the same fate as Luppi." 

"I'm nothing like Luppi," he swore, though a shudder went down his spine at the thinly veiled threat. 

That night he dreamed that he was in the forest again, and this time he wasn't interrupted. He stripped Ichigo naked and held him down before fucking his cock deep into the young man's ass, yanking his long orange hair to pull him into a bruising kiss. He fucked him for hours, licking and biting every inch of his skin until his body was covered with marks of Grimmjow's ownership. 

He thrust harder as his climax approached, digging his fingers into slender hips. He opened his eyes to see what expression the boy wore, but to his surprise he saw nothing beneath him but the forest floor. 

He jerked back in shock and looked around frantically. He was alone in the woods. 

Suddenly he heard a twig snap behind him and he jumped to his feet and whirled around. The monster was standing just a few feet away, yellow eyes casting an eerie glow on pointed, bloody teeth that were bared in a snarl. It took a step toward him and growled menacingly. 

_Run_ , he heard Ichigo whisper. 

The monster pounced. 


	3. Chapter 3

_Ichigo tried to hold in his wanton moans, but he couldn't stay silent when the larger man tightened his grip on his cock and started to stroke him a little faster. His whole body was flushed and tingling, but the cool flesh pressed to his back helped to sooth the heat that threatened to consume him._

_Shiro was rocking his cock against the cleft of his ass with slow, gentle thrusts. Ichigo pushed back against him obligingly, his brother's pleasure enhancing his own. His breath came in needy pants as his twin licked down the line of his jaw while growling playfully. He was so close. So close-_

_His brother thrust harder against him and slid the fingers of his unoccupied hand up Ichigo's chest before wrapping them loosely around his neck. He squeezed down just hard enough to make Ichigo wonder if something was wrong, but before he could say anything he felt the large, blunt head of Shiro's cock pressing against his entrance._

_Ichigo stiffened and tried to pull away, but Shiro's hands tightened warningly around his neck and cock. He dug his fingers into the dirt and growled, "What the_ fuck _, Shiro?" He looked over his shoulder to glare into his brother's golden eyes, hissing, "I told you_ no _-"_

_But the eyes that stared back at him were piercing blue, feral and hungry._

_"Don't worry, beautiful," the stranger purred with a nasty grin. "I'm not gonna hurt you ..._ much _."_

_The hardness pressed against his hole thrust forward, and as he was torn apart he screamed-_

"Grimmjow!" 

Ichigo's eyes snapped open and he shot upright, only to knock foreheads with Shiro who had been hovering over him. "Fuck!" they said almost in unison, reeling back and pressing their hands to their respective heads. 

Ichigo lay back on the ground and took a few deep breaths. He was covered in sweat and he couldn't help but shiver a little in the crisp autumn air. Winter was setting in sooner than they'd expected, and although the climate in their homeland was usually quite mild it was much colder up in the mountains. 

Shiro continued holding his forehead for a few seconds before lowering his hands with a wince. "Are you okay?" he asked tentatively. "You looked like ya were havin' a nightmare." 

"...Yeah, I guess I was," Ichigo said quietly. "Sorry if I woke you up." 

"It's almost dawn, anyway." His brother glanced up at the lightening sky. "We might as well check the traps." 

They got to their feet and Shiro picked up the sack containing their meager possessions before strapping the sword around his waist. Before they left, Shiro put a hand on Ichigo's arm and looked down into his eyes with a solemn expression. 

"...Grimmjow," he said, and Ichigo suddenly felt sick. "That was _his_ name, wasn't it?" 

Ichigo stared at his brother for a long moment. He must have said the dead man's name in his sleep, he realized. He didn't want to talk about it. Without saying another word, he tugged his arm out of his brother's grasp and walked away. 

***** 

Deep in the mountains there was a small hunting village that sat at the entrance to the pass that led through the tallest peaks. Ichigo had come there in the past to trade meat and furs in exchange for small items. Shiro always waited on the outskirts, out of sight. Most humans were disturbed by his appearance, and as much as he hated it they didn't need another angry mob on their hands. 

They kept a set of clothing specifically for occasions like this which was kept in better condition than the patched-together rags they usually wore. There was nothing they could do about Ichigo's lack of shoes, but the humans in the little mountain town had grown used to his oddities and seemed to take it for eccentricity. Unfortunately, there was no shortage of able-bodied hunters there and game was abundant during most of the year, so they could never get much in exchange for the kills Ichigo brought to sell. 

This time, however, they actually had something of value to trade: the sword that they'd taken from the dead stranger, an expensive-looking thing made of folded steel. Shiro had hoped that Ichigo might learn to wield it since he lacked Shiro's natural defenses, but his twin had refused to touch the thing ever since he'd picked it up. They wouldn't be able to get anything near its full worth in exchange, but Shiro figured that if Ichigo wasn't going to use it they might as well try to get something for it. 

Their traps hadn't caught much during the night; even though it was early in the season the animals were already starting to bunker down for winter. They built a small fire and cooked up what they had, huddling together for warmth. Shiro wished he had something more substantial to offer his brother, but foxes and rabbits were difficult to catch by hand and the larger animals could take a long time to track. He had also been hesitant to leave Ichigo alone ever since the attack, even to go hunting. 

He was still hungry when he finished his meager breakfast, but he had been hungry for quite some time and he knew that it would take more than rabbit to satisfy him. As usual, Ichigo seemed to read his thoughts. After he'd finished his own meal he leaned his head against his Shiro's shoulder and said quietly, "You need to feed." 

"You'll need your strength to go into the village," Shiro countered, albeit reluctantly. He took his brother's hand and squeezed it affectionately. "Later, though?" 

Ichigo looked up at him and smiled faintly. "It's a date," he agreed. "I'll see if I can get you a cloak with a hood; then you could come with me next time." 

"Feh, you know they're gonna take one look at my face and get out the torches," Shiro said bitterly. "Can't hide eyes that glow in the dark." 

"People are idiots when it comes to things they don't understand," said Ichigo, "and you have beautiful eyes. You shouldn't hide them." 

Shiro felt his cheeks heat in a blush and he couldn't resist ducking his head to press a chaste kiss against his brother's lips. "Come back soon, okay?" he said softly. 

"Always." 

***** 

Abarai Renji had grown up in the big city, but there was something charming about small towns like this one. The air smelled cleaner, the food tasted fresher, and even time itself seemed to move at a more sedate pace. 

Ostensibly he had come here to visit Orihime-chan, but in truth he'd just wanted to get away for a while. Ever since he'd been promoted to lieutenant he'd scarcely had a moment to himself, so when he'd finally managed to convince Kuchiki-taicho to give him a vacation he'd decided to spend it in a location so remote that even Seireitei's famous messenger birds wouldn't be able to find him. Just traveling there had taken a significant chunk out of his vacation time, but he couldn't say that he regretted his choice. He hadn't felt this relaxed in years. 

A flash of color caught his eye, and when Renji turned he saw several villagers greeting a young man who had just walked up the path. His most striking feature was his long orange hair, but even at a distance Renji could tell that the man was beautiful. He was wearing a worn yukata and nothing else, and Renji had to wonder if he wasn't cold. 

"Who's that?" he asked curiously. 

Orihime paused in her speech, and he realized that she had been saying something when he'd interrupted her and had probably been speaking for some time. She was a good-natured sort, however, so rather than chastising him she smiled brightly and said, "Oh, that's Ichigo! He hasn't been here for a while; I was starting to worry we'd never see him again." 

"Ichigo?" repeated Renji, frowning thoughtfully. He had met a boy named Ichigo once, he vaguely recalled. And his hair, hadn't it been... 

"Most people think he's some sort of hermit, but I-" 

"Huh," Renji said thoughtfully. "I'll be right back." 

The young man was holding a sword out to one of the hunters and they seemed to be arguing about something. Its design was plain, but even a cursory glance was enough to see that it was a high quality piece of craftmanship. The boy held it stiffly as if it were unfamiliar in his hands. 

"Ichigo?" Renji greeted him uncertainly. 

The redhead looked up at him suspiciously. "Do I know you?" 

"You probably don't remember me, but ... you're from Kurakara, right?" 

Ichigo's eyes widened with such surprise that he nearly dropped the sword in his hands. "What?" 

"I knew it!" crowed Renji. "I'd recognize that hair anywhere. I'm Renji, Abarai Renji. My uncle took me to visit your village one time. You were only six at the time, so I'll forgive you if you don't remember." 

"No, I remember," Ichigo said stiffly. "He ... he came to speak with my father, right?" 

"Old friends, eh?" interjected the hunter. "Well now, how's that for a bit of luck? I'll let you two get re-acquainted. Ichigo, come find me later and we'll talk some more. We don't have much call for swords 'round here so I can't give you much for it, but maybe we can come to an agreement." 

"Thanks, Gavin," Ichigo said distractedly. He looked back at Renji. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding oddly tense. 

"I'm on vacation, believe it or not," said Renji with a laugh. "I'm kind of a big deal now back in Seireitei, and you wouldn't believe how busy I am. I came here to spend time with Orihime-chan; we met a few years ago when she was visiting one of my buddies in Rukongai. But what about you? I thought..." Renji hesitated, his expression growing more serious. "Well, no offense, but I heard about what happened to your village and I didn't think there were any survivors. Did anyone else...?" 

"No," Ichigo said shortly. "Just me." 

Renji's heart ached in sympathy. The pretty redhead looked like he'd fallen on hard times, and Renji wondered who had taken care of him after the tragedy. He wanted to ask more since the incident had always been a bit of a mystery, but he felt that it wouldn't be kind to continue asking about what was surely a traumatic experience for the young man. 

"Where are you staying?" he asked after an awkward pause, glancing furtively at Ichigo's naked feet. He must have a hut or something nearby, but Renji had a feeling that it wasn't in the best condition. He would probably be grateful for a respite from the cold, Renji thought, and it would be no chore to spend some time with an old acquaintance who happened to have grown into a devastatingly attractive young man. "I'm staying with Orihime-chan, and I'm sure that she wouldn't mind-" 

However, to his surprise, Ichigo immediately shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm only here to sell this," he said, gesturing to the sword in his hand with a strange air of contempt as if it were made of snakes. "I'm not gonna be here long." 

"Oh man, you're not gonna get a fair price around here for a nice piece like _that_ ," Renji advised him. "You'd be better off going to one of the major cities and taking it to a merchant. Or..." Renji hesitated. "I guess _I_ could take it off your hands. We can always use more swords back at Seireitei; plus, unlike the people who live here, _I_ actually have money. Come have lunch with me and I'll give you a good deal." 

Ichigo was quiet for a few moments, frowning in indecision, and though he barely knew the boy Renji found himself holding his breath in nervous anticipation. Even his frown was adorable, and Renji started racking his mind trying to come up with ways he could get him to stick around longer. 

Luckily, the young man agreed after a few seconds of hesitation and Renji couldn't hold back a grin as he led him over to where Orihime-chan was watching their conversation with interest. "Ichigo and I are gonna go back to your place and get a bite to eat," he told her. "You don't mind, do you?" 

"Oh, not at all!" she said cheerfully. "I always invite Ichigo-kun in for a meal but he never accepts, so it would make me happy to cook for him. What a surprise that you two know each other!" 

"You could say that we go way back," Renji said with a grin. "Ah, but don't worry about making us something; I'll just put together some sandwiches with the bread from this morning. We have some business to discuss so, y'know..." 

Orihime's smile faltered a little, but she seemed sincere when she told them that she'd been meaning to go on a walk anyhow and she hoped they'd have a good time catching up. Renji felt a little bad for leaving her out, but he was dying to get some alone time with the pretty redhead and he was sure that Orihime-chan wouldn't hold it against him. 

Renji invited Ichigo to take a seat at the small table in Orihime's little house and they set about negotiating the price of the sword. Ichigo seemed to have no concept of its true value, but Renji didn't have the heart to rip him off. He tried several times to draw the redhead into a more intimate line of conversation, but the younger man seemed oblivious to his desperate attempts at flirtation. After they'd settled on a price Ichigo seemed set on leaving right away so Renji blurted out, "Why don't you stay here tonight?" 

Ichigo's amber eyes widened in surprise. "Stay ... here? Uh, no, that's okay." 

"Please?" Renji begged. "It's getting close to evening, and it looks like a storm's coming in. Why not sleep in a warm bed for the night? 'Hime-chan won't mind." 

"Uh, thanks, but no, I really couldn't," Ichigo refused again. 

"Give me one good reason why not," Renji pressed. "Come on, do you know how amazing it is that we'd happen to run into each other again after all these years?" He gave the gorgeous young man his brightest, most charming smile. "Orihime-chan's gonna whip up a meat pie for dinner tonight, and if you don't stay there are gonna be a ton of leftovers. You don't want all that delicious pie to go to waste, do you?" 

Ichigo actually cracked a smile at this, and Renji thought he had never seen a lovelier expression. "Look, that sounds great, but I've really got to get going. The truth is..." He glanced around as if worried that someone might be listening in, then leaned closer and said, "Look ... do you remember my brother?" 

Renji raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Pale kid, weird eyes, kinda freaky?" 

Ichigo's face darkened and Renji hastened to add, "Well, not freaky per say, just, uh, _unique_ , I guess. Didn't he have some kind of disorder?" 

"You could say that," said Ichigo, pressing his lips together. "People can be really cruel to those who are different." 

"Oh, yeah, for sure," agreed Renji, nodding and wondering where the kid was going with this. 

Ichigo scrutinized him for a few more seconds before finally saying, "The truth is ... Shiro is still alive." 

Renji's mouth dropped open. "Oh, is ... that so?" His brow furrowed in confusion. "So then why...?" 

"You remember what he looks like," Ichigo explained. "Everywhere we go, people think he's a monster or a demon or something. People can get violent when they're afraid and, well ... after a while, we decided that it was best if Shiro didn't come into town anymore." 

"That's terrible," Renji said sympathetically. "So he's just waiting out there in the woods?" 

"Yeah," replied Ichigo, "and he's expecting me back soon, so I've gotta go." He smiled again and Renji's heart did a little backflip. "Thanks for the meal, Abarai Renji. I'll give your regards to my brother." 

"Wait!" shouted Renji as the younger man stood to leave. "Look, I don't know what all you've been through, but I can guess that you've been through a lot. How about you go get your brother and you can both stay here tonight? There are enough beds for both of you in Orihime-chan's guest room, and I can just sleep on a bedroll tonight. You guys deserve to rest in comfort for once." 

Ichigo bit his lip. "I don't think that's a very good idea. Shiro doesn't really like being around strangers..." 

"Sure, but I'm not a stranger," argued Renji. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen? If you're worried about Orihime-chan, don't be; she's one of the friendliest people I know and I can guarantee you that she won't care about your brother's condition." 

Ichigo bit his lip. "...Alright," he said after a long moment of hesitation. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask him. Er ... just in case he says yes, do you have a hooded cloak he could borrow?" 

Renji grinned in triumph. He watched Ichigo head back into the woods, then went to find Orihime so he could make sure she was cool with him inviting people to stay at her place. 

When Ichigo and Shiro had been young they had looked almost identical save for the obvious differences, but Shiro had been poor of health and had always seemed smaller somehow. Renji expected that it would be much the same now. 

***** 

"I can't believe that I let you talk me into this," Shiro hissed. He tugged his hood farther down his face and glanced around furtively as Ichigo knocked on the door. 

It opened promptly to reveal a man slightly shorter than Shiro with bright red hair pulled back into a spiky ponytail. He was sporting a stupid grin that got just a little too warm when his gaze landed on Ichigo. Supposedly they had met the stranger back when they were kids, but Shiro didn't remember him and he certainly didn't trust him. 

Abarai Renji invited them inside and led them into the kitchen of the small house where a young woman was busy rolling a ball of dough. "This is Inoue Orihime," he said as the girl turned to them with a cheerful smile. "Don't worry; she's cool. Orihime-chan, this is Kurosaki Shiro." 

"It's so good to meet you, Shiro-kun," said the girl, holding out her hand for him to shake. "I can't believe I never knew all this time that Ichigo-kun has a brother!" 

Shiro examined her hand warily but made no move to take it. She'd only freak out when she saw his claws anyway. After a moment her smile faltered and Ichigo bumped his shoulder against his arm - _you're being rude_ \- so Shiro grit out, "Nice to meet ya." 

Inoue dropped her hand awkwardly, but after a moment her smile returned and she said, "Please, make yourselves comfortable. Shiro-kun, can I take your cloak?" 

Shiro tensed, but Ichigo looked up at him imploringly and said, "It's okay. They understand about your ... "condition"; they're not gonna freak out." 

Shiro never could say no to those eyes. "... _Fine_ ," he spat, standing up straight and removing the cloak. 

Despite Ichigo's assurances, both humans' eyes widened as he uncovered himself and the girl drew her breath in sharply. 

"Whoa," Abarai said dumbly. He glanced between him and Ichigo. "You're ... tall." 

Shiro raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. 

"Sorry," the redhead apologized with a grin. "I just didn't expect it. Weren't you pretty sick when you were a kid?" 

"I got better." Shiro shrugged. 

"I like your eyes," the girl said shyly. "How unique ... what sort of condition do you have?" 

"We don't really know, to be honest," admitted Ichigo. "He's just always been like this." 

"Well, I hope you're hungry," said Inoue with another bright smile. "There'll be plenty to go around. Why don't you boys go talk while I finish this?" 

They took a seat in the tiny living area and made small talk for a while with Abarai mostly carrying the conversation. Ichigo still seemed a bit uncomfortable, and Shiro wondered if his brother felt as claustrophobic as he did in the little house, surrounded by strange humans and unfamiliar scents. Furthermore, he _really_ didn't like the way Abarai kept looking at his brother. 

However, let it never be said that Shiro couldn't control his baser impulses. He restrained himself all throughout dinner, staying quiet and allowing his brother to entertain the humans with stories of their travels. The pair seemed surprised to learn that they lived outdoors, and the undisguised looks of pity in their eyes were almost offensive. Inoue seemed fascinated by his glowing eyes and pointed teeth, even going so far as to ask him to hold out his hands so she could examine his claws. Abarai, on the other hand, only had eyes for Ichigo. He wondered how angry his twin would get if he lept across the table and ripped them out. 

***** 

Despite his unease, Ichigo was glad that he had accepted Renji's offer to stay overnight. The rain he and Shiro had been expecting for days had finally arrived, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Orihime's little wood stove was a godsend that filled the air with a pleasant, smokey aroma while blanketing every foot of the cottage in delicious warmth. 

After it got dark Orihime showed them to a small room that contained two narrow beds. Ichigo tensed when he saw them - he and Shiro hadn't slept apart for years - but he pushed the feeling aside and sank down onto a mattress that was almost too soft. The blankets were warm and dry, and despite the strangeness of the situation he was soon lulled to sleep... 

...Until the door creaked open and Renji whispered, "Pssst!" 

Ichigo sat up and ran a hand through his hair. " _What?_ " he hissed irritably. 

Renji beckoned for him to follow and moved further back into the main room. 

Ichigo glanced over at Shiro. His brother gave no indication that he was awake, but he had a feeling that he'd woken as soon as Renji had approached the door. Well, hopefully whatever the older man wanted wouldn't take too long. 

He slipped out of bed and went out into the living area. The room was dark and he could hear the rain pounding on the rooftop accompanied by the occasional roll of thunder. 

"Sorry if I woke you up," said Renji, smiling gently. "I just wanted to talk to you alone for a bit. Your brother seems a bit..." 

"What?" Ichigo frowned. 

"...I just get the feeling that he doesn't like me much, is all." 

"He's been through a lot," Ichigo said defensively. "He has good cause to be mistrustful of other people." 

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," said Renji. "I don't know how you survived living in the wilderness all these years, but I wanted to tell you ... you don't have to." 

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" he asked warily. 

Renji suddenly reached out and took his hand. "Come back to Seireitei with me," he urged. "My uncle was friends with your father; I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out. Or, hell, _I_ could take care of you. I'm sure I could find you a job, and people would get used to your brother - there are plenty of weirdos in Seireitei as it is; he'd fit right in. What do you say?" He smiled hopefully. 

Ichigo stiffened. He was sure that Renji was just trying to be kind, but the idea of stepping behind Seireitei's walls and waiting for the warriors there to turn on them was nothing sort of terrifying. He also really didn't like the way Renji kept talking about his brother. 

"Look, I appreciate the offer," he said, tugging his hand out of Renji's grasp, "but Shiro and me are doing just fine. We don't need your charity." 

"It isn't charity!" Renji insisted. "You deserve better than this, scrounging for food in the woods with only your brother for company. Let me help you!" 

"Why do you even care?" Ichigo asked with rising irritation. "You barely know us." 

"Because, I ... look..." Renji bit his lip, then blurted out, "oh hell, I've been wanting to do this all day-" 

The taller man abruptly leaned down and awkwardly pressed their lips together, and Ichigo's eyes flew open with shock. Before he could react, a low growl filled the room and Renji pulled back in surprise. 

Shiro stood in the doorway Ichigo had left open, nearly invisible in the darkness but for his glowing eyes. An ill-timed flash of lightning lit the room, illuminating his expression for a split second. 

Shiro looked pissed. 

"Shiro?" Renji broke the silence, his voice tense with uncertainty. "Uh, did you need something?" 

"Get the fuck away from him," Shiro hissed. 

"Whoa, take it easy. What's the problem?" 

"I said, get the _fuck_ away from my brother." 

"Hey, back off," said Renji, stepping in front of Ichigo protectively. "Look, I don't know what your issue is with me, but this is between me and him. Just give us a minute, will you?" 

"Ichigo, come here," Shiro snapped. 

Ichigo bit his lip. This was bad. He started to go to his twin to calm him down, but suddenly Renji put his arm out and halted him in place. 

"Hang on," said the redhead. "Look, I understand that you're just trying to look out for him, but that doesn't mean that you get to tell him what to do." 

"Renji..." Ichigo started nervously, but Renji continued, "Your brother's a grown man, same as you. If he wants to have a _private conversation_ with me there's not a whole lot you can do about it, and you're an asshole for trying. And you should know that I just asked him to come back to Seireitei with me, and you're welcome to accompany us if you want but I'm not going to let you stop him from going." 

Shiro's eyes narrowed murderously so Ichigo shoved Renji's arm aside and said, "Look, I-" 

"Just give us a moment here, 'kay babe?" interrupted Renji, grabbing Ichigo's arm and tugging him back. 

Shiro snarled, and Ichigo realized what was about to happen a split second before his brother launched himself across the room. 

"Shiro, no!" Ichigo shouted, but his voice was lost in a deafening boom of thunder and in the next moment Renji was on the floor and the air was filled with the wet sound of tearing flesh. 

Ichigo cursed and grabbed for his brother's arms, but Shiro was lost to his rage and didn't even look up before shoving him across the room. His back hit the door to Orihime's bedroom, and it swung open to reveal Orihime standing just inside to the right of the open door. Her eyes were huge and she was shaking like a scared rabbit as her gaze darted between him and the two men grappling in her living room. Ichigo opened his mouth - to say what, he had no clue - when she suddenly bolted toward the front door. 

"Wait!" Ichigo called, scrambling back to his feet. 

Renji was bleeding profusely, but he had somehow managed to get his hands on a sword and was back on his feet facing away from Ichigo. Shiro was circling him cautiously, but Ichigo could see by the way his muscles were tensed that his brother was about to pounce... 

...So he glanced around desperately, picked up the first thing he saw, and brought it down on the back of Renji's skull. Luckily, it happened to be a particularly heavy vase and the taller man went out like a light. Shiro stilled, looking almost confused. 

"Come on!" Ichigo shouted, grabbing his brother's hand and pulling him out into the storm. 

Orihime was sprinting toward the nearest house so Ichigo let go of Shiro to chase after her, hoping that his brother would have the good sense to follow him. He caught up to her easily and grabbed her around the waist only a few feet away from her neighbor's door. 

"Orihime!" he said urgently, "Please, just-" 

Orihime screamed, and a second later the door flew open. 

The hunter she'd woken was already holding an axe. 

***** 

"Do you like it?" Aizen asked. 

Grimmjow ran his fingers down smooth steel. "It's beautiful," he said honestly. He didn't think he had ever seen a finer blade in his life. 

"Its name is Pantera," said Aizen. "Consider it your reward for your excellent performance during training." He graced Grimmjow with one of his cold smiles. "You'll also be happy to hear that for your first mission as an Espada I have decided to send you to the north to find that creature you spoke of." 

Grimmjow's eyes widened. "...Thank you, Aizen-sama," he said with surprise. The past several days had been incredibly difficult, but Aizen must have really been impressed to be so generous. 

"Just one thing," Aizen added. "You are to capture it and bring it back here, _alive_. Primera and Diez will accompany you." 

...Or not. " _What?_ " Grimmjow snarled in outrage. 

"Is there a problem, Grimmjow?" Aizen asked. His tone was mild, but Grimmjow knew that there was only one answer he could give. 

"...No, Aizen-sama. I just ... I thought I had expressed to you that I wanted to _kill_ the beast." 

"Yes, you did," agreed Aizen, "but I gave the matter some thought and decided that such a rare creature deserves a closer examination. Bring back the human you saw too, and make sure that neither comes to harm beyond what is necessary." 

Aizen made a small motion with his hand and Starrk and Yammy both stepped forward. _Why the Primera?_ Grimmjow thought wildly. 

"Welcome to the Espada," said Aizen, smiling serenely. "I have faith that you will be a credit to your rank. I see great things for you, _Sexta_." 

Grimmjow's hand clenched a little tighter around the hilt of his new sword. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not very happy with this chapter. Despite my best efforts, it turned out much less interesting than I had intended. Let me know what you think and I promise there'll be some proper smut in the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

" _What do you mean they aren't here anymore?_ " Grimmjow snapped.

"These scents are weeks old," said Starrk. He stared off into the woods with an unreadable expression. "We'll have to track them."

" _Fuck!_ " Grimmjow cursed, slamming his fist into a tree.

Yammy rolled his eyes and pulled out a bag of dried meat. "That's just fucking great," he grunted, stuffing a wad into his mouth. "Dicking around in the woods ain't exactly my idea of a good time, _Sexta_. How do I know you didn't make this whole thing up, huh? 'A monster attacked me in the woods', what kind of moron would believe that?"

" _Aizen_ believes it," Grimmjow snapped, "but if you really think I'm lying, feel free to go back to headquarters and call him a moron to his face. I don't need your slow ass anyway, so good riddance."

Yammy's face contorted in rage, but before he could respond Starrk put a hand on his shoulder. "Calm yourself, Diez. He's right; we are under direct orders from Aizen-sama to find and capture these men. We will continue tracking them for as long as it takes."

"You just said the scents are weeks old," Grimmjow snarled. "So how the fuck do you propose we do that?"

"Every Espada has their own unique gifts," said Starrk, sounding almost bored. "Something that they excel in beyond the usual enhancements. You'll have one too, someday, if you last long enough for your abilities to fully mature. Septima has increased speed, Diez here here has great strength ... but for me, it's my nose." He tapped the aforementioned appendage with a finger.

"Your nose," Grimmjow repeated skeptically.

The Espada were the most feared and respected of Aizen's forces, but they led dangerous lives. Sooner or later every one of them seemed to end up getting killed or going crazy or simply disappearing, which was part of the reason Grimmjow had been so reluctant to take the position in the first place. Starrk, however, had been the Primera since before Grimmjow had been recruited. You didn't hold a position that dangerous for so many years by using your _nose_.

Starrk nodded sagely. "I have the best sense of smell out of all the Espada. These scents are old, but they're also very distinctive. Rest assured, however far they've gone, we will find them."

Grimmjow's jaw clenched in frustration. Now that his prey was nearly within his grasp, it was getting harder and harder to be patient.

Last time he'd faced the beast it had nearly killed him, but this time was going to be different. He was so much stronger, now. Even if he wasn't allowed to kill the thing, he was going to pay it back for every wound it had inflicted on him and then some.

He wondered again what that beautiful boy had been doing out in the woods with a creature like that. When he'd asked the pretty redhead if he had any companions he had responded, 'my brother'. Was that monster really his kin, or had he simply lied?

He supposed that it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, anyway. The boy was his, and that was all he really needed to know.

*****

Ichigo's blood tasted so pure, so sweet. Nothing like thin, tainted human blood. It was like drinking liquid ecstasy, and despite his best intentions he could never restrain himself from drinking deep until his brother grew pale and his heart started to slow.

The rush it gave him was almost sexual in nature and always left him craving physical release, but recently Ichigo had been adamant that he take care of his needs on his own. He was still pissed about last week's incident and was barely speaking to him, though he wasn't so cruel as to deny his twin blood.

When he was done he held Ichigo close and soothed the wounds he'd inflicted with his tongue. His brother allowed it for a few moments, but all too soon he tensed and started shifting away.

"That's enough," he said quietly.

Shiro's arms tightened around him rebelliously. "C'mon, King," he whined, "ya know I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Ichigo said icily. "This keeps happening, Shiro. Everywhere we go ... and I know it's not your fault, not usually, but this time? There was no reason for it. No fucking reason."

"You're too innocent, King," Shiro said sullenly. "Ya didn't see the way he was looking at ya. And then he started talking about takin' ya away from me, and I just got so mad..."

"But he wasn't going to take me away from you!" Ichigo snapped, voice taught with frustration. "What, do you really think I was going to abandon you to go live in the city with a bunch of strangers? How many times do I have to say it?"

"I can't stand it," Shiro said softly. "The thought of losing you ... I can't stand it. And when that piece of shit started _touching you_ , I just-"

"Stop it." Ichigo forced his arms away and shakily stood, shrugging his brother off when he attempted to steady him. "That's not good enough. You can't attack people just because they piss you off!"

The worst part was, Shiro knew that if Ichigo had accepted that asshole's invitation it could have been a really good thing for him. Unlike Shiro, he was easy to like and would probably be accepted easily into any community lucky enough to have him. He could have slept in a warm bed every night, eaten good food, and ... as much as Shiro hated to acknowledge it, his brother seemed to enjoy socializing with other people from time to time. He could have been happy there, if Shiro had let him go.

But Shiro could make him happy, too, and as long as he still drew breath he would do whatever it took to keep his twin by his side.

*****

The air had grown warmer and the prey more abundant once they'd reached the other side of the mountains. From there it was only a few days to their old territory, and despite how miserable he'd been feeling lately it felt good to return. It was so isolated that Ichigo doubted that any other human had ever been there. This meant that they had to travel a long way to get supplies, but out of all the places they'd been this had always been his favorite. It was beautiful there, quiet and peaceful with a large lake full of fish and several caves to choose from if they needed shelter.

Every night when he closed his eyes, he saw their faces. Raw terror in the eyes of people he'd come to know, Shiro's violent reaction to the perceived threat, blood splattering onto mud ... all of it mixed together in his mind to form nightmares so distressing that he'd barely slept since they'd left the village. He'd been having trouble sleeping even before that, so by the time they reached the lake he was exhausted down to his very bones.

Shiro had been making increasingly desperate bids for his forgiveness, but Ichigo didn't even want to look at him right now. Usually when these things happened it wasn't really Shiro's fault, but this time it had been so senseless. He should never have accepted Renji's invitation to stay the night. He should have known that something like that would happen...

He heard twigs snapping behind him, and a few seconds later Shiro walked up and dropped a small deer to the ground with a quiet thud. Ichigo gave him only a cursory glance before looking back at the spectacle of the sun setting over the lake.

Shiro sighed, and a moment later his brother sat down next to him. The silence hung heavy between them as they watched the sky change color and the sun sink behind the mountains.

Finally, after the stars came out and Ichigo started to shiver in the cool night air, Shiro shifted closer and started to speak.

"...Look, King, I'm so sorry, I really am. What do I have to do ta make it up to you?"

"You're _not_ sorry," Ichigo said stiffly. "You're just sorry that I'm upset."

"What do you want me to say?" his brother asked, voice sharp with frustration. "I love ya, Ichi. I don't ever want ta bring you pain; of course I'm sorry that I hurt ya! But I'm sorry that I hurt those other people too, 'cause ... that was never my intention, King; you know it wasn't. But sometimes I just can't help myself."

Ichigo sighed and shifted his hand over slightly to entwine with his twin's. "I know you didn't mean to," he said tiredly. "I'm just upset. But ... I don't want to fight anymore, either." He glanced over at Shiro and smiled faintly. "I don't have the energy to stay mad at you. Just promise me you'll try harder next time something like that happens, okay? I don't want to go through this ever again."

His brother's face broke out into an expression of such boundless elation that it took Ichigo's breath away. "I promise," he said softly before leaning down to press a lingering kiss against his lips.

Heat spiraled through Ichigo's core, and suddenly he wasn't cold anymore. It had been weeks since he had last achieved release, and he was suddenly aching for it.

But a little voice deep inside questioned, _Is this really okay?_ and he pulled back with a sigh and rested his forehead against his twin's.

He hadn't thought about it much before, not for a really long time, but recently he had been wondering if it was right to do these things with his own brother. They had always been physically affectionate, and as they'd matured it had only seemed natural to explore their sexuality together. They were both men, after all, so basically they were just ... helping each other masturbate. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

 _You're just begging for a cock in your ass._ He shivered violently as the stranger's words echoed through his mind. Shiro put his arms around him and held him close, keeping him warm.

He had never imagined before that two men could have intercourse like husband and wife, and the realization had made him uneasy for reasons he didn't entirely understand. Did he even like men that way? He'd never given it a thought.

*****

The morning Shiro woke up and the ground was covered in frost, he knew that he needed to find some bigger game. Ichigo was shivering in his sleep, their shared body heat no longer enough to keep him warm. Usually they would cover themselves with a series of thick pelts when the weather grew cold, but they were awkward to carry so they had abandoned their collection when they'd started traveling. All they had at the moment were a couple of deer skins that had yet to completely dry, and it wasn't enough to fend off the frigid air.

With that in mind, Shiro kissed his brother goodbye and set out into the woods to hunt for something with a warm coat of fur. He'd always had an exceptionally good sense of smell, but the woods weren't exactly teeming with bears and it was difficult to track a particular scent when so many different animals had crossed paths in any given location. Because of this, it took several hours for him to find a trail fresh enough to track and it was almost dark by the time he finally caught up with his prey.

He crept closer until he could see it through the trees. To his good fortune, he discovered that the black panther he'd been tracking was large even for a male and looked young and healthy. Its pelt would make an excellent blanket.

The panther was drinking from a stream so he tried to take it by surprise, but the animal sensed his approach at the last second and whirled around just as he pounced. Shiro hit it in the side and they both fell into the shallow stream, snarling and struggling for dominance. It managed to bite him in the arm and rake its claws down his back before he could sink his teeth into its neck. He bit down harder until he heard a snap and the animal went limp.

Fuck.

He must be getting rusty; it had been a long time since he'd been so badly injured taking down an animal that size. His forearm had been practically crushed by the panther's jaws, and blood was pouring from the wound at an alarming rate. He cursed repeatedly as he tore a large strip from his yukata and wrapped it around his arm as best he could.

He needed to get back to Ichigo.

When Shiro was little he had been plagued by a chronic illness that had robbed his strength to the point he could barely get out of bed. It had been necessary to take great care to avoid injury because his wounds were slow to heal. His stomach was constantly aching, and nothing the village's medic tried ever seemed to help.

It wasn't until he'd tasted blood for the first time that he'd realized he wasn't sick at all.

He was just really, really hungry.

He could drink ordinary human blood and it would give him strength, but Ichigo's blood was the best. It satisfied him in a way that normal food never could, and when he was injured it allowed him to heal at an astonishing rate.

But he had traveled far to stalk the panther, and it would take him a couple hours to get back even if he were at full strength.

He decided to leave his kill behind and try to get back as fast as he could. As much as he wanted that lovely fur, it wasn't worth his life.

He put pressure on the wound with his free hand and started to run. Not the best idea when he was bleeding out, perhaps, but it wasn't like he was some weak human who could be completely debilitated by a little blood loss. It was more important at this point to be quick than to take care of the injury.

Minutes bled into hours as he raced through the woods. Luckily he had excellent night vision because after it got dark it was almost pitch black under the trees. By the time he could smell the lake his arm was throbbing violently and he was ravenously hungry.

Ichigo ought to have been asleep, but when Shiro approached he saw that his brother was sitting in his favorite spot overlooking over the lake. In the light of the nearly-full moon he looked almost ethereal. "You were gone for a long time," he said as Shiro approached. "I thought-"

His eyes widened when he turned his head and saw the blood splattered over Shiro's skin. "Holy fuck, what the hell happened to you?"

"Panther got a lucky hit on me," he muttered, his mouth already watering as he eyed the enticing curve of Ichigo's neck. "C'mere."

He dropped to his knees and yanked Ichigo closer before sinking his teeth into his brother's neck. Ichigo yelped in surprise but quickly relaxed and put his arms around his brother.

They embraced each other tightly as Shiro fed. With every mouthful he felt stronger, and as fire spread through his veins he slid his hands down to grasp Ichigo's hips and pull him into his lap. He was already hard with arousal, and it felt so good to thrust up against his twin that he started doing so at an almost frantic pace. To his pleasure, Ichigo ground down against him and his blood became even sweeter as he started to pant with desire.

He took more blood than he meant to, and when Ichigo gently pushed against his shoulders it was difficult to force himself to stop. He reluctantly removed his teeth from his brother's flesh and started licking the wound, savoring the exquisite flavor for as long as he could. The movements of his hips became slower and more leisurely as he recovered from the intense high.

"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked huskily.

Shiro pulled back a bit and started unwrapping the makeshift bandage from around his arm. It didn't look pretty, but the bleeding had stopped and it had already healed quite a bit. The places where he'd been scratched by the panther's claws were already scabbed over, too. "I'll be fine." He tilted his head down to nip at Ichigo's lower lip. "I had ta run all the way back though, so I might need a little 'special care' to restore my strength..."

Ichigo snorted. "You just took half my blood; if anyone needs to be taken care of it's me."

"How about we take care of each other?" Shiro purred. He released his brother's hips to reach down between their bodies and undo the tie on Ichigo's yukata.

Ichigo bit his lip. "Shiro..."

"Shhh," Shiro hushed him. "Let me take care of ya."

He brought their mouths together and licked at his brother's lips, begging for entrance. Ichigo opened for him obligingly, and they kissed deeply until Shiro was burning all over and they had to break apart for air. He slid his hands under Ichigo's yukata and ran his claws down smooth skin before squeezing his brother's ass and pulling his hips even harder against his aching erection. The friction felt so good, but there were too many layers in the way. He needed bare skin.

His brother was squirming in his lap and his breath was hot in his ear as Shiro started nipping and sucking the uninjured side of Ichigo's neck. He pulled his twin's yukata down, exposing his skin to the frigid air. Ichigo, always his perfect angel, didn't seem to mind as he helped him slide his arms out before moving to remove Shiro's own clothing.

He lifted his head back up and they kissed each other hungrily. Shiro clasped his hand around his brother's and guided it down to where he wanted it most, almost whimpering at the feeling of Ichigo's fingers closing around both their erections.

They rested their foreheads together and panted for air as Ichigo pumped his hand up and down with a firm yet gentle grip. Shiro ran his hands up his twin's body and then back down to his ass to give it another good hard squeeze.

"Let me do it," he whispered against his brother's lips.

"Do what?" Ichigo panted.

"Let me put it in," Shiro pleaded. "Y'know, in your ass. I promise I'll be gentle and shit."

To his dismay, Ichigo stiffened and paused in his movements. "Shiro ... we've talked about this," he said. "I don't want to do that with you."

"Why not?" Shiro whined. "Fuck, Ichi, ever since you put the idea in my head I've been wanting to do it so fucking bad. Just try it, okay? I'll stop if you don't like it."

"No." Ichigo let go and started to pull away, but Shiro tightened his grip and held him in place.

"C'mon," Shiro begged, pulling Ichigo's hips a bit higher and shifting him so Shiro's erection was rubbing between the cheeks of his ass. "Just let me try it. Please, King?"

" _No,_ " Ichigo said tensely. "Why the fuck won't you let this go? _I'm not fucking my brother_ , end of discussion."

"So I'm your brother, so fucking what?" Shiro huffed, suddenly irritated. "We've been getting off together pretty much since we hit puberty, and you're telling me ya have a problem with this _now?_ "

"That's not the same as _sex_ , Shiro," Ichigo insisted, pushing on his chest to try to put some distance between them. "It just ... it wouldn't be right, okay?"

Shiro growled low in his throat. "Don't you ever fucking say that," he hissed. "Fuck, Ichi, we were _made_ for each other, don't you fucking know that? There ain't a thing we do together that isn't right."

"You don't know that," insisted Ichigo, honey eyes boring into him with a serious expression. "So just fucking drop it, okay?"

Shiro's jaw clenched. "Fuck that," he spat. He thrust his aching erection between Ichigo's cheeks a few more times, rocking against him almost aggressively before shifting back and pressing the head of his leaking cock directly against his brother's hole. "Just let me do it, it'll be so good, I promise," he begged.

"Shiro, _no_ -"

"Just let me do it-"

"No!"

" _Yes_ ," he growled, tightening his grip again and pulling him down. It was such a small opening that it seemed impossible for something so large to actually fit in there, but when he bucked his hips he felt himself press inward, just a little-

-And then Ichigo's fist slammed into his face, and it was like being dowsed with cold water.

"Get the fuck away from me," Ichigo snarled, scrambling back the moment Shiro relaxed his grip. He rolled to his feet and glared down at him murderously. "You fucking asshole! What the hell was that, huh?" he demanded as he put his yukata back on with stiff, angry movements.

" _Ow_ , fuck, calm the fuck down," Shiro cursed, putting a hand to his throbbing cheek. "I wasn't tryin' to hurt ya, fuck!"

"What part of 'no' did you not understand?" Ichigo spat.

"I just got a little carried away for fuck's sake, you didn't have to punch me in the face!"

"You know what? Why don't you just go fuck _yourself_ ," Ichigo snarled before turning away and striding toward the woods.

Shiro's eyes widened. "King, wait!" he yelped, scrambling to his feet and chasing after him. "Where the hell are ya going?"

"Wherever I want," Ichigo growled. He paused and looked back at Shiro with a painfully cold expression. "And don't fucking follow me."

Shiro's heart sank as he watched his twin stalk off into the night.

*****

"This is him," the man said sourly. "He invited the demon into Orihime-chan's home along with that hermit, and it attacked us during the night and slaughtered half the village." He turned and spat on the floor before leveling the man on the bed with a glare of utter resentment. "Some soldier, feh! Kept braggin' about how he's got some fancy job back in Seireitei, and yet he brings death to our doors and doesn't do a damn thing to protect us."

"Gavin-san, please," whispered a woman with long orange hair. "We all trusted Ichigo. This wasn't Renji-kun's fault."

Every muscle in Grimmjow's body tensed. "Ichigo," he repeated slowly.

The man lying on the bed opened his one good eye and gazed up at them miserably. He was in bad shape and was heavily bandaged on his neck, chest, and the left side of his face. "Kurosaki Ichigo," he rasped. "He was ... I ... we were friends back when we were little, I never thought-"

His gaze suddenly sharpened and he frowned at Grimmjow. "Wait ... who are you, exactly?"

"None of your fucking business," Grimmjow growled, adjusting his coat. "I'll be asking the questions here, got it?"

"Aizen's men dress like that," the man said warily. "All white. Who-"

"I _said_ , I'm asking the fucking questions! Are you deaf as well as blind, you piece of shit?" He raised a foot and booted the moron in the stomach, mercifully avoiding the man's injuries.

"Renji-kun!" the woman shrieked, running over and shielding the redhead's body with her own.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" the other man shouted while grabbing Grimmjow's arm. Grimmjow jerked away from him easily and punched him so hard he heard a crunch. The man dropped like a sack of flour and Grimmjow poked his head outside to call to his companions.

"Take this, find out what she knows," Grimmjow ordered once they came over, yanking the girl up by her hair and shoving her into Yammy's arms. "I'm gonna interrogate the other one."

"Hm, the people here aren't going to like that very much," Starrk pointed out. "Are you sure you want to do it this way?"

"I'm going to do what I have to do to get the information I need, and so will you," he growled. "If anyone protests, kill them. We don't need any witnesses, anyway."

"Now that's what I like to hear," grunted Yammy, grinning with anticipation as he threw the girl over one of his massive shoulders.

Her screams were attracting those of the villagers who could still walk, but Grimmjow knew that Starrk and Yammy could handle this lot in their sleep so he left it to them and turned back to the man lying on the bed.

"So, you're _friends_ with Ichigo, huh?" he sneered. "Tell me about him. And you're gonna want to be _very detailed_ , because if I think you're holding something back I'm gonna cut out your other eye."

Pantera glimmered in the dim light from the window as he pulled her from her sheath.


	5. Chapter 5

For the past several days Shiro had been leaving him presents every night while he slept, usually food or pelts. Ichigo ignored the food, but he kept the pelts because it was bitingly cold after dark and he had no desire to freeze to death. 

During the day he wandered aimlessly and scavenged for mushrooms and herbs, though this late in the season there wasn't much to be found. Sometimes he set up traps for small animals, but he was hesitant to go after anything bigger because Shiro usually did the hunting. He'd tried to learn how to use a bow at one point, but he'd never been able to get the hang of it and he didn't have one now anyway. 

Shiro had approached him repeatedly to try to talk, but Ichigo didn't want to hear it and he'd made that very clear. Shiro was the one person he'd always been able to trust, so the fact that he had come so close to violating him in such a fundamental way, especially after what he'd been through a few weeks prior ... well. He had forgiven his brother for a lot of awful things over the years, but he didn't know how he could ever forgive him for _this_. 

But Shiro was all he had, so it wasn't like he could just abandon him. He just ... he didn't know how they were going to get past this. And he definitely wasn't ready to talk about it yet. 

The morning that changed everything started like any other, but Ichigo knew something was wrong when he saw the little ribbon of smoke cutting through the sky. It was too small to be a forest fire, which meant that either Shiro had decided to cook breakfast for once (very unlikely; Shiro enjoyed the taste of raw meat and rarely cooked for himself), or ... there were other people nearby. 

Ichigo climbed a tree to try to get a better look, but all he could see was the smoke rising from a spot about a mile away in the direction of the mountains. Of course, his first thought was to wonder if Shiro had seen it yet. Whether their unwelcome guests were simple travelers passing through or survivors from the village out for blood, he was sure that any encounter between them and his brother could only end in disaster. Part of him wanted to go find Shiro immediately and vacate the area until the strangers were gone, but he couldn't help but be a little curious. Besides, what if Shiro had already seen the smoke and was on his way there? 

And so it was with an air of vague trepidation that Ichigo climbed back down the tree and started cautiously heading toward the source of the smoke. He didn't intend to reveal himself to the strangers, but he picked up a big stick along the way just in case he ended up needing to defend himself. 

About halfway there he thought he heard something, like a grunt or a yelp, so he paused and listened carefully until he heard it again. It was coming from quite nearby, and it sounded strangely familiar... 

He crept forward slowly, stepping carefully to avoid making any sound. It wasn't until he got close enough to see motion through the trees that he remembered where he'd heard that noise before: it was a bear cub, several by the looks of it, tumbling together near the mouth of a small cave. 

Ichigo froze. 

Bears were much more common in this neck of the woods than humans were, but certainly no less dangerous. If he ran into one without Shiro at his back it wouldn't go well for him. He barely breathed as he took a slow step back, praying that Mama Bear was off somewhere having a nap. 

Historically, prayer had never worked well for Ichigo. 

The only warning he got was a flash of movement in the corner of his eye and suddenly there was a full-grown bear barrelling toward him, roaring in outrage and closer than he would have thought possible. She had been watching her cubs from a short distance away, and - fuck! Ichigo bolted, dodging trees and slipping through underbrush with an ease born from years of practice. He only hoped that it would be enough to save his life. 

He could hear the bear crashing through the bushes right behind him, and when a pair of large trees loomed ahead too close together to squeeze through he threw himself to the side on reflex. He tightened his grip on the stick he still held, for all the good it would do him, and dived onto the ground just in time to avoid the bear as she charged. Unfortunately, when she hit the trees she turned in a flash and managed to swipe him on the side as he rolled away. Even the tips of her claws were enough to cut deep, painful gashes into his stomach and hip, but he had no time to dwell on it as he shot back to his feet and continued running. 

Perhaps if he had been attacked closer to the lake he would have been able to escape, but Ichigo wasn't as familiar with this area and that came back to bite him in the ass when the trees suddenly fell away and he unexpectedly broke into a small clearing. There was a rocky outcropping in the center and he'd have to either go around it or change direction. He was pretty sure that he didn't have time either way. 

So Ichigo did neither, and instead whirled around and brought down the stick with both hands. It hit the bear on the head with a sharp 'crack' and the animal faltered long enough for him to dodge around her, but he was a beat too slow and suddenly a maw full of giant teeth clamped onto his leg hard enough to crush the bone. A strangled yelp of pain tore itself from his lips as he fell, but he managed to keep a hold on the stick and quickly twisted around to plunge it into the bear's eye. 

She let go of him and reared back with a roar, and Ichigo scrambled away as fast as he could with a mangled leg. The stick was protruding awkwardly from the bear's face, but the pain only seemed to enrage her more. She shook her head for a moment and then barrelled after him again. 

The sight of the bear thundering toward him, teeth bared in a snarl stained red with his own blood, was one of the most terrifying things he'd ever seen. As if in slow motion, Ichigo felt around around at his side and closed his hand around a rock a little smaller than his fist. He hurled it at the bear as hard as he could and it struck her on the nose with a wet 'thud'. She stumbled again and roared in surprise, and Ichigo used the scant seconds that bought him to rack his mind for a plan, an idea, anything. 

Instead, all he could think of was Shiro's face and the anguished expression he'd worn when Ichigo had last seen him. He must be hungry, Ichigo thought; he hadn't fed him since the day they'd started fighting. What would his twin do if Ichigo died? They had always been together ... how could Ichigo die without even making sure that his brother knew how much he loved him? 

With that thought, all fear suddenly left him and when the bear lunged at him again he rolled to the side. Her momentum carried her slightly past him and he pushed himself up with his good leg, twisted around, and threw himself onto the bear's back. She immediately reared back and tried to throw him off, but he squeezed hard with his knees and closed both hands around the stick to pull it deeper with all the strength he could muster. 

The bear _screamed_. She fell to her side and would have crushed Ichigo if he hadn't let go at the last second. He stumbled back and fell on his ass, scrambling away to avoid the wild thrashing of the bear in her death throes. And then she went still, and the only sound in the clearing was Ichigo's rapid pants. 

He dragged himself over to the rocky outcropping and struggled to pull himself to his feet. Well - foot. The leg the bear had mangled was bleeding badly and he knew that he needed to take care of it right away, but for a few seconds all he could do was stand there and stare at the unmoving form of the creature that had nearly ended his life. 

_Did I really just kill a bear with a stick and a rock?_ he thought, somewhat hysterically. Shiro hunted bears all the time, but he was freakishly strong and didn't really count. 

And then the silence was broken by a voice straight out of his nightmares, low and rough and sickeningly familiar. 

"And here I thought you couldn't get any hotter," it purred, chilling his blood into ice. 

Ichigo's gaze shot to the edge of the clearing. A man was standing there watching him, tall and powerfully built with bright blue hair and a feral grin that set his heart pounding all over again. 

Jaegerjaques Grimmjow's eyes darkened with hunger as he began to advance. 

***** 

When Starrk said that they were getting close Grimmjow could barely contain his excitement, but unfortunately his fellow Espada didn't share his enthusiasm and were really grating on his nerves. Yammy was constantly complaining and kept eating through their supplies, and that lazy piece of shit Starrk had lengthened their journey significantly by insisting on a solid nine hours of sleep a night plus a couple stops during the day for naps. Grimmjow had been entertaining himself with fantasies wherein he murdered them in various and increasingly violent ways, but practicality stayed his hand ... for now. 

Grimmjow had taken to going on long walks in the mornings while he waited for Starrk to get up. Usually it was boring as fuck, but it was better than sitting around watching Yammy stuff his face while his prey got further and further away from him. 

The fates smiled on him this particular morning, however, providing him with an opportunity for a little entertainment in the form of a bear roaring not too far away. It would feel good to let out a little of his pent up aggression, and having fresh meat for breakfast would be a nice bonus. 

He moved swiftly through the trees and quickly honed in on the source of the noise. To his surprise, he found himself at the edge of a small clearing where a large bear was viciously attacking a slender young man. The man looked badly wounded, and... 

Grimmjow's heart skipped a beat. 

...It was him. Wide-eyed and bloody, but Grimmjow would recognize him anywhere. The man who'd been starring in his wet dreams for the past several weeks was right before him, and he was about to get mauled to death by a bear. 

Grimmjow took a step forward and started to pull Pantera from her sheath, but before he could do anything the bear charged at Ichigo. Grimmjow's heart thudded with shock as he watched the boy roll to the side and lunge onto the bear's back in one surprisingly graceful motion. There was a long stick protruding from one of the bear's eyes, and Ichigo gripped it with both hands and thrust it deeper with savage intent. From the angle Grimmjow was standing at he could see the boy's face in profile, and the sheer determination in his expression got Grimmjow's blood boiling. He looked like a cornered tiger, vibrant and fierce in his will to survive. 

It was over in seconds, the boy jumping back just before the bear fell to its side. His breath caught in his throat as the hardness in the pretty redhead's eyes gave way to shock. The bear thrashed out its last breaths and Ichigo braced himself against a large rock and pulled himself to his feet. 

He was even more beautiful than Grimmjow had remembered, even covered in dirt and sweat from his struggle with the bear. Long gashes tore through the side of his yukata, and one of his legs was dripping with blood. He was panting for breath and trembling the way Grimmjow had wished for during their first meeting. He regretted that he hadn't been the cause, but it was nevertheless exactly as attractive as Grimmjow had imagined and his cock was becoming harder the longer he watched. 

Wanting the boy's eyes on him, he finally released his death grip from the hilt of his sword and purred, "And here I thought you couldn't get any hotter." 

Ichigo's head whipped toward him, and Grimmjow saw his pupils shrink to pinpricks as his already shocked expression melted into utter horror. 

Grimmjow stalked into the clearing. Ichigo slid to the side and nearly stumbled as he approached, but Grimmjow grabbed him by the arms and shoved his back against the solid wall of rock. 

"I've been looking for you," he said softly as he leaned in to inhale the boy's scent. Blended together with the distinctive aromas of blood, death, and fear, it hit Grimmjow like a powerful aphrodisiac. 

Ichigo let out a strangled gasp as Grimmjow tasted the sweat on his jaw and praised, "That was amazing, how you just took down that bear. Even I might have had trouble fighting one that size if I were unarmed." 

To his surprise, Ichigo let out a short, slightly hysterical laugh. "What is this?" he said weakly, pushing futiley against Grimmjow's chest. "This ... how ... I'm dead, right?" The way he smiled at Grimmjow made him look slightly unhinged, but it made his heart stutter nonetheless. "The bear killed me, and I died. Right?" 

Grimmjow snorted in amusement. "If you were dead you wouldn't smell this good," he assured him. 

Ichigo shook his head slowly, honey eyes boring into him with gorgeous intensity. "No, this isn't ... you're not ... Shiro killed you! You're dead!" 

"After I fell in that ravine I came pretty close," he admitted, "but no fucking way was I gonna die when I haven't even had a chance to get _better acquainted_ with you yet." He slid one of his hands up the boy's arm and fisted it in his hair to pull his head back before leaning down until their mouths were nearly touching and promising, "You're not getting rid of me that easily." 

"No," Ichigo said quietly, eyes wide with horror. He began struggling against Grimmjow's hold. "No!" 

"Hey, calm down," Grimmjow soothed, holding him in place with ease. "You're losing a lot of blood. Much as I'd love to pin you against this rock and fuck you until you break, right now I've gotta get you all fixed up." Ichigo yelped when he suddenly released him and swept him into his arms with one arm under his legs and the other around his back. "I left my shit back at camp, so just hang on." 

Ichigo ignored him and continued to struggle as Grimmjow ran back the way he'd come, but after a couple minutes he went limp and appeared to fall unconscious. Grimmjow ran faster and couldn't help but feel relieved when his traveling companions came back into view. 

Yammy's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he burst through the trees. Starrk was already up and was staring at the figure in his arms with interest, though he still looked a little blurry-eyed. 

"Get out the bandages," Grimmjow snapped, kneeling by the campfire and carefully laying the boy out on the ground. "His leg looks pretty fucked up, and I think his side's bleeding too." He untied Ichigo's yukata and bared the boy's chest to examine the deep wounds that started on his stomach and wrapped around to his hip. 

Starrk shifted over and started sifting through his pack while Yammy leaned to the side to peer at Ichigo's face. "That one of the guys we're looking for?" he asked, pointlessly. "How'd you find him?" 

"He was fighting an animal in the woods, ran into him when I went to check it out," Grimmjow muttered distractedly. 

"Well shit, how about that? Now we just have to find the other one and we can go back to headquarters. If I have to stay in the fucking woods too much longer I'm gonna lose my mind." Yammy sounded entirely too cheerful given the urgency of the situation, but Grimmjow resisted the urge to punch him in the face. 

Stark came over with a handful of bandages and a bottle of distilled alcohol. He crouched down by Ichigo's leg and hissed as he examined the wound. "This is bad," he said seriously. "Aizen-sama's not going to be happy if he dies." 

"He'll be fine," Grimmjow snapped. "Just hurry up and take care of it." 

Starrk began cleaning and bandaging Ichigo's wounds, and Grimmjow sat back on his heels and watched him anxiously. He didn't like seeing Starrk's hands on his property, but the older man had more experience giving first aid than he did and the thought of Ichigo dying was making his gut twist in a way that was both painful and unfamiliar. 

"If this is gonna take a while, maybe me and Sexta should go look for the other one," said Yammy, popping a piece of dried fruit into his mouth. "It'd be great if we could start heading back by the end of the day." 

"I'm not leaving him," Grimmjow growled. 

Starrk glanced at him oddly for a moment but quickly turned back to his work and said, "It's fine. The accounts you and those villagers gave both suggested that his companion is quite protective of him." 

"So?" Yammy grunted. 

"I suspect that if we wait long enough, he will come to us." 

***** 

Shiro felt like he couldn't breathe. 

The past several days had been some of the roughest he'd ever experienced. Ichigo hadn't said a word to him since his failed attempt to initiate sex, and every time he tried to approach him his brother would respond in no other way but to level him with an icy glare before walking away. 

He had been trying to keep an eye on him, but Ichigo always seemed to sense it when he was nearby so he could only get close while his brother was asleep. Shiro had been spending the rest of the time hunting to try to take his mind off things. He had been leaving most of his kills for Ichigo in hopes of soothing his ire with a peace offering, but so far his twin had rejected everything except the pelts he had skinned for him. Skinning his kills had been tough since Ichigo was usually the one who did that sort of work, but he hoped that the gesture had gotten through to him at least a little. 

He was heading back to the lake with a wild boar slung over his shoulder when he saw the smoke. His first thought was to wonder if Ichigo had decided to cook an early lunch, but for some reason the deviation from his normal schedule struck him as a little odd. Shiro had actually been feeling strangely uneasy all morning, so he quickened his pace and after he dropped the boar off near their supply cache he set out to investigate. His kill would probably be fine for at least a couple of hours; the animals near here usually knew better than to come so deep into their territory. 

He loped through the woods at an easy pace for about forty minutes or so, stopping a couple times to climb a tree and make sure that he was going the right way. 

It wasn't until he got close enough to smell the blood that he realized something was very wrong. 

Its pure scent was tainted with pain and fear, but it was unmistakably Ichigo's. Every muscle in Shiro's body tensed and he sprinted the remaining distance, halting only when he reached a small break in the trees where a makeshift camp had been set up. 

Ichigo was lying on the ground near the fire, and there were bandages wrapped around his leg and naked torso that were spotted with blood. There were two strange humans sitting nearby; they shot to their feet at Shiro's approach. The third man had been crouched over his brother, and when he turned Shiro's breath froze in his lungs. 

He didn't know how it was possible, but the man who had attacked Ichigo several weeks ago was alive and standing right next to his brother's unmoving form. 

Shiro's paralysis lasted only a heartbeat before giving way to fiery, explosive rage. He roared in fury and lunged at the piece of shit human but was forced to abort his attack when one of the strangers darted between them and punched him in the face so hard his vision went white. 

He leapt back, stumbled briefly, then dodged to the side and attempted to disembowel the new threat with his claws. This time the man grabbed his arm and twisted it in such a way that Shiro flipped over and crashed to the ground. He recovered quickly, rolling to his feet and putting a bit of distance between them. His eyes narrowed at the strange human, but the other man only gazed back at him with an infuriatingly calm expression. 

"Back off, Primera," said the blue-haired human, unsheathing a sword and smiling savagely. "I've got a score to settle with this thing." 

As if unconcerned by the threat of Shiro's presence, the first man raised an eyebrow at his companion and said, "Are you sure? He's pretty fast, and he's much stronger than a normal human." 

The third stranger, an oversized boulder of a man, let out a chortle entirely too jolly to be appropriate for the situation and interjected, "Hey, if the kid wants to try you might as well let him. Watching him get his ass kicked would really cheer me up." 

The tall brunet shrugged carelessly and stepped aside, clearing the floor for Shiro and the dead man - Grimmjow, he dimly recalled. Shiro growled and crouched low to the ground, and the human's face hardened as he readied his sword. 

They lunged at each other almost simultaneously, Grimmjow bringing his sword down in an arc that would have cleaved through his shoulder had he not batted the blade aside like a pesky fly. The man jumped back fast enough to prevent Shiro from blinding him as he had intended, but his claws were still able to score deep scratches across the asshole's face. 

The taller man cursed violently and reached up to wipe blood from his eyes as he stumbled back. Shiro took advantage of the opening by closing the distance between them and grabbing the man's arm with one hand. He twisted and heard the bone break with a snap at the same time as the claws on his other hand ripped through a wall of solid muscle and allowed him to impale the human's stomach with his fist. 

Grimmjow wheezed, choked up a mouthful of blood, and then fell to the ground. Shiro's fist came out of him with a wet, tearing noise and he felt briefly satisfied, but there were still two more humans to deal with so he barely spared him a glance before turning to face the other threats. 

"Holy shit," said the behemoth from earlier as he began to lift the massive sword he'd drawn at some point during the fight. Shiro didn't give him time to follow through with the motion, snarling as he shot forward to climb the man like a tree and sink his teeth into his neck. The human yelped and grabbed onto him to shove him away with a surprising amount of force, but not fast enough to prevent his throat from being torn out. 

With two down, Shiro wasted no time in rolling back to his feet and going after the third one. Or he would have, had he been able to find him. He glanced around frantically, wondering if the last human had run for it, when suddenly a blade slid into him from behind and twisted neatly to carve a little hole straight through his chest. 

Shiro's breath came out in a strangled gasp and he fell to his knees as the blade retreated. Such a small wound shouldn't have been enough to fell him, but the way the strength fled his limbs told him that it had hit something important. 

For a moment he thought he heard Ichigo's lovely voice calling his name, but then something slammed into the back of his head and he knew no more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that no animals were harmed in the making of this story, and after their mother died those bear cubs went on to live long and happy lives, somehow. Also, I'm sure I don't need to say this, but never try to fight a bear; you will die.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time with this chapter due to various irl things stressing me out; hopefully the next one will come out faster.
> 
> Also, someone pointed out that in the manga the Espada's names are written the western way (given name first, surname second), so just so y'all know I am aware of this and I intentionally wrote everyone's names the japanese way because most of the characters in this story are from the same country and it wouldn't make sense for some of them to write their names differently.

Ichigo didn't want to wake up. 

His body felt heavy and pleasantly warm, but he was dimly aware that something terrible was happening and he really didn't want to deal with it at the moment. He could hear Shiro's voice, though, penetrating the haze around his mind like a ray of burning light, and he was pretty sure that his brother needed him because Shiro never snarled like that without a reason. 

Reluctantly and with great effort, Ichigo rose from the depths of unconsciousness and opened his eyes. For a moment he only saw blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds, but then awareness returned and he sat upright with a gasp. 

The motion pulled at healing wounds crossing his stomach, and one of his legs was throbbing painfully. The air was thick with the scent of blood. 

He turned his head just in time to see Shiro fall to his knees with blood rapidly spreading from a hole that pierced straight through his chest. 

" _Shiro!_ " Ichigo shouted, jumping to his feet. His injured leg couldn't support his weight and he collapsed in the next moment, so he pushed himself up with his hands and dragged himself closer. There was a man standing behind his twin, a tall man with shoulder-length hair and a bit of scruff on his chin, and as he watched the man reversed his sword and slammed its hilt into the back of Shiro's skull. 

Ichigo's breath caught in his throat as his brother fell face down into the dirt. 

A weak imitation of Shiro's snarl tore itself from his throat as he pushed up with his good leg and lunged at Shiro's attacker. The man's eyes widened and they both tumbled to the ground as Ichigo tried to close his hands around his throat. Unfortunately, the tall brunet was stronger than him and easily caught his wrists and forced them away. 

Ichigo continued to fight for a minute, but he was still very weak from the aftermath of the earlier attack and he quickly wore himself out. He panted for breath as his struggles ceased, heart pounding frantically. 

The man had been staring at him all the while with an expression of vague surprise, and as Ichigo stilled he finally opened his mouth to say, "...Calm down. You'll reopen your wounds." 

"What?" Ichigo snapped, though there was a tremble in his voice that he hadn't intended. "Let go of me!" 

"Are you going to attack me again?" the stranger asked in an oddly gentle tone. 

Ichigo shook his head helplessly and looked back to where Shiro still lay on the ground. An alarming amount of blood had soaked through the back of his yukata. "Look, I don't know what you want, but please," he said, desperately, "let me help him." 

To his surprise, the man nodded agreeably and said, "I've got some medical supplies in my bag. If you promise to stay calm I'll take care of him for you." 

Ichigo didn't waste time questioning why the man who'd just stabbed Shiro would be willing to help him. Instead, he tried to tug away again and growled, "You can't help him like I can. I promise I won't try to fight you, okay? So let me help him." 

The stranger raised an eyebrow but slowly released his hold on Ichigo's wrists, and Ichigo immediately scrambled off of him to kneel at Shiro's side. He rolled him onto his back and called his name a few times, but there was no response. He didn't even react when Ichigo held his forearm against his mouth, so he used his other hand to pull Shiro's jaw open and pressed his wrist against his brother's teeth. They pierced the skin easily and at last he saw movement as blood poured down Shiro's throat and he swallowed weakly. 

"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?" said the stranger, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Ichigo growled and tried to yank away, but the man's grip was unshakable. 

"Let go!" Ichigo growled. "He needs my blood to heal!" 

"Your blood?" the man repeated dumbly. 

"I don't have time for this!" Ichigo said, his voice cracking slightly in the middle. "It's - I have - my blood, it's like, special, okay? So just let me do it!" 

Unfortunately, the man's grip stayed firm on Ichigo's arm. He tilted his head a bit to glance to the side, and when Ichigo followed his gaze he saw a body lying on the ground a short distance away. Ichigo's breath froze in his lungs when he spotted a familiar shock of blue hair. 

"Can you help him, too?" the stranger asked curiously. "I think he's still alive." 

" _What?_ " Ichigo snapped, his stomach tensing with revulsion. 

The man looked back at him and then nodded as if deciding something. "Tell you what," he said, casually as if discussing the weather, "Use your magic blood to heal that guy and while you're doing that I'll take care of your brother. He should be okay as long as I start right now, and if he isn't I'll let you do your thing. But only if you help that guy first." 

Ichigo stared at him for a long moment. The man stared back. His expression was deadly serious, and as Ichigo frantically wracked his mind for a way out of this all he could think was that _he didn't have time for this_. 

Finally he grit his teeth and growled, "Fine. But if he dies I'm gonna fucking kill you, got it?" 

The stranger let go of him and held up his hands as if to suggest that he meant no harm. "Got it," he said calmly. He jerked his head toward Grimm - toward the man lying on the ground. "Do you need help getting over there? You're still in pretty bad shape." 

Ichigo declined to answer and instead dragged himself across the clearing with limbs that shook slightly when he put his weight on them. There was a gaping wound on the man's stomach and his face was covered with blood, somewhat obscuring his features. Shiro's handiwork, no doubt; Ichigo hoped it had hurt. The thought of touching this man, of allowing him to drink his blood, was deeply repulsive to him ... but Shiro's life depended on it, so he shut his eyes, pressed his bleeding arm against the man's mouth, and tried to pretend that he was doing anything else. 

At first the man didn't respond, but as blood trickled into his mouth he twitched and after a few seconds a shaking hand reached up and clutched Ichigo's arm closer. Blunt teeth tore into his wrist and Ichigo's skin crawled as the other man latched on to the wound and started to suck. He looked back at Shiro to make sure the stranger was keeping his word, and to his relief he saw the brunet wrapping bandages around his brother's chest with a practiced hand. He was getting a little dizzy so he shut his eyes and took deep breaths while digging the fingers of his free hand into the ground. 

An indeterminate amount of time passed and suddenly the stranger was crouching in front of him and tilting his head up with a gentle grip on his chin. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked with an oddly concerned expression. "I don't think you can stand to lose much more blood." 

Ichigo nodded weakly and looked down to examine the asshole's stomach wound. There was still an unnatural-looking indent where it had been, but the bleeding had slowed and it seemed to be healing. He decided the man would probably live, so he tried to tug his arm away only for a callused hand to clench around it with bruising force. A low growl emitted from the prone figure and Ichigo flinched as he bit down even harder. 

"Okay, that's enough," said the man who had stabbed Shiro. He reached down and forced his companion's jaw open and Ichigo quickly pulled his arm back. Without a set of teeth embedded in his flesh he was able to break the wounded man's grip, but at Ichigo's withdrawal he snarled violently and started thrashing around. The stranger held him down until his movements slowed and he finally went limp again. 

Black spots were starting to swim across Ichigo's vision, but he forced himself to focus and attempted to drag himself back over to Shiro. He collapsed about halfway there and then the stranger was there, pulling Ichigo's uninjured arm over his shoulder and helping him hobble the remaining distance. He held him steady as Ichigo knelt at his brother's side. 

"You're sure he'll be okay?" Ichigo said anxiously, examining the bandages wrapped around Shiro's chest. They were already soaked with blood. 

"...Ah, probably," the stranger replied, though he didn't sound nearly as certain as Ichigo needed him to be. 

" _Probably?_ " he spat, twisting to face the other man. 

The tall brunet scratched the back of his head and his expression became slightly sheepish as he admitted, "I didn't expect him to bleed quite this much; I think I might have nicked an organ." 

Ichigo's eyes widened and he quickly moved to press his arm against Shiro's mouth again, but the man stopped him once more and pulled him away. "Whoa, hang on, okay? You're white as a sheet; you can't afford to lose any more blood." 

Ichigo struggled weakly, but he quickly realized it was futile so he snapped, "Then you have to do it!" He turned his head to look into the taller man's eyes and begged, "Please, give him your blood. I did what you wanted, I helped ... _him_ ... so please, help my brother. Don't let him die." 

"Look, I'll do what I can for him, but there's nothing special about my blood. I can't-" 

"Just do it!" Ichigo growled. He shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before looking directly into the other man's eyes and saying, "Please, just trust me. You can help him. Please." 

The stranger gazed at him curiously and Ichigo's heart fluttered weakly as he felt Shiro's life slipping away with every passing second, but at last he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll do it. But if anything funny happens I can't promise I'll spare him a second time." 

He shifted Ichigo to the side and unsheathed his sword, drawing it across his arm without any further hesitation. Bright red blood rose from the cut and he held his arm over Shiro to let it trickle into his mouth. 

Ichigo's body was tense with anxiety as he watched, and after a moment the stranger raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Breathe." 

He had no interest in taking orders from this man, but this one seemed sensible so Ichigo let out his breath and inhaled slowly. A couple breaths later Shiro's tongue flicked out and he twitched ever so slightly as if trying to get closer to the source of the blood. 

Ichigo sagged with relief, and suddenly all the strength left his body. He put his head down and shut his eyes, listening to his heart struggle to circulate what little blood he had left. 

"Hey," he heard someone say as if from a great distance. There was a sound like someone snapping their fingers and the voice added, "Wake up." 

_Fuck off_ , Ichigo thought irritably. 

Sweet oblivion welled up once more, and this time he let it take him. 

***** 

Starrk did his best to rouse the boy, but Kurosaki Ichigo was out cold. He cursed and glanced back at Kurosaki Shiro, the taller of the two brothers. The young man had gone still again, and Starrk had no idea if the blood he'd given him was enough. He'd at least been able to bandage the boy's wound, though, so he decided to take care of the other two before checking on him again. 

Diez was a lost cause, lying face down in muddy earth soaked with his own blood. Aizen-sama was not going to be pleased. 

He tended to the redhead first, hastily bandaging his arm before wrapping some extra bandages around his leg just to apply pressure. He suspected that the boy had reopened some of his wounds, but further care would have to wait until he'd made sure that Sexta wasn't about to bleed out. 

As he worked he reflected on the enigma the two boys presented. The new Sexta had been one of the strongest among the Numeros, and though he was rumored to be particularly violent and cruel he was also known to be a straightforward sort of man who abhorred mind games of any kind. This added to the fact that Aizen-sama had been sufficiently intrigued by his story to send out a full team for retrieval had been enough that Starrk hadn't doubted for a second that the creature that had attacked Sexta had abilities beyond those of an ordinary human. 

However, he had never expected to find something like _this_. 

In retrospect, their scents should have tipped him off from the start. Kurosaki Shiro stunk of corruption, which had led him to suspect that at least one of the men he was tracking was a possessed human or perhaps even a minor demon. Such creatures could be quite dangerous in their own right, but he knew how to deal with their kind and he'd been confident that Diez and Sexta would be able to hold their own so long as Starrk kept an eye on them. 

But now that he'd scented the boys directly he realized that they didn't really smell quite like anything he'd ever encountered, and he ought to have realized it much sooner. He should have been better prepared ... the last thing he wanted was to return from this mission the sole survivor of yet another massacre. 

When he wiped the blood from Sexta's wounds he discovered that the scratches on his face had already scabbed over and the stomach wound was well on its way to healing. His arm was healing at an odd angle, though, so he broke it again and reset the bone before putting it in a makeshift splint. All the Espada had regenerative abilities that allowed them to heal at an accelerated rate, but this was nothing short of phenomenal. There were creatures that could heal themselves by ingesting blood, but he had never heard of anything with blood that could heal others. 

Unlike his brother, Kurosaki Ichigo smelled very sweet. Starrk had never scented anything like him before. 

***** 

_He was in the forest again, Ichigo pinned beneath him, flushed and trembling. Whether he trembled with fear or arousal Grimmjow couldn't discern, and he found that he didn't much care. All that mattered was the press of soft skin against his naked body and the breathy little moans the boy couldn't hold back when he sucked particularly hard on the curve of his neck. Hungry for more, he bit down and tasted rich blood that sent fire spiraling through his veins. Ichigo gasped and writhed beneath him, but he held him down with ease and reveled in the sense of euphoria that lit up his every nerve..._

_...But something was wrong. A sharp pain erupted in his arm and he released the boy with a curse. He looked at his arm and saw that it was twisted unnaturally about halfway down his forearm. His stomach started burning, too, and when he looked down he saw that his guts were spilling out through a gaping hole in his midriff._

_Ichigo's eyes were wide with shock, but when he tried to catch his gaze he realized that the boy was looking at something behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he turned his head in time to see dagger-sharp claws swipe through the air and-_

-he woke up with a gasp, shaking and covered in sweat. His stomach was still throbbing painfully, but when he looked down he saw that his wounds had been bandaged and his arm had been put in a splint. He took a few deep breaths and flexed his arm experimentally. To his surprise, the bone felt unbroken and there was very little pain. In fact, he felt surprisingly good considering that he had been practically gutted like a fish. He wondered how long he'd been unconscious. 

"You're awake," said Starrk, walking over and crouching at his side. "How do you feel?" 

Grimmjow reached down and brushed his fingertips against the bandages wrapped around his stomach. "What happened?" he asked quietly. 

"I screwed up," Starrk said ruefully. "Kurosaki Shiro was ... not what I'd expected. I should never have let you face him alone." The other man sighed deeply. "I was able to capture him, but I injured him pretty badly in the process. If it weren't for the other boy's power you both probably would have died." 

Grimmjow frowned and tried to sit up, feeling the wound on his stomach throb in response. "Hey, take it easy," said Starrk, his eyes widened in something like concern. "I'm almost out of clean bandages; if you reopen your wound it'll be a problem." 

Grimmjow grunted in pain and gave up, panting a bit as he lay back on his bedroll. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "What power?" 

Starrk shrugged. "His blood seems to have healing properties. When you drank it I could see your wounds healing right before my eyes ... I've never seen anything like it." 

"I drank his blood?" Grimmjow muttered. His mind flashed back to the day they'd met, when he'd bitten the boy's shoulder and felt that incredible rush. "Where is he?" he asked, raising his head and running his gaze across the small clearing. 

"Over there," said Starrk, pointing across the fire. "You can relax; I tied them up and they're both still wounded so they won't be making trouble for quite a while." His eyes darkened with regret and he added, "Diez didn't make it. He got taken down right after you, bled out in seconds. There was nothing I could do for him." 

Grimmjow tried to sit again but Starrk put a hand on his chest and pushed him down, saying, "Just relax, okay? You need to rest." 

"I need to see him," Grimmjow growled. "Either help me up or take your hand off me." 

"Diez?" said Starrk, looking slightly confused. 

Grimmjow shook his head. "Ichigo," he corrected. 

Starrk hesitated for a long moment so Grimmjow batted his hand away and pushed himself up. He put a hand to his stomach and put pressure on the wound as he forced himself to his feet and stumbled across the clearing. 

The redhead was lying on his back on the far side of the fire. New bandages had been wrapped around his arm, leg, and bare chest, and rope bound his legs together and his arms to his sides. And next to him - Grimmjow paused, clenching his jaw as his gaze fell on the white-haired demon lying in the same position about a foot away. Bound and unconscious, it didn't look nearly so threatening. However, the memory of their fight was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel wary around the thing. The speed with which it had taken him down had been downright humiliating. He hadn't expected the fucker to go for his eyes. 

He looked away resolutely and half-sat, half-collapsed at Ichigo's side. He was even paler than he'd been when Grimmjow had last seen him. Impulsively, he put out a hand to touch the boy's cheek, but he aborted the motion when Starrk came up behind him and crouched down next to him. 

"You seem ... preoccupied, with him," the other man said hesitantly. 

Grimmjow rolled his eyes in irritation. Starrk wasn't usually this chatty. He wanted to tell him to fuck off and leave him the hell alone, but it would be unwise to be so blunt with the Primera so instead he said, "Do you really think they're brothers?" 

Starrk shrugged. "Probably. There are enough similarities between their scents and appearances that I have no reason to doubt it." 

"How is that possible? That one barely seems human," Grimmjow said, jerking his head toward the creature. 

"I don't know," replied Starrk, "but I'm sure it has something to do with the strange abilities they have. Hopefully Aizen-sama will be interested enough in them that he won't be too displeased about Diez." 

Grimmjow frowned. "What do you mean? You think he'll want to study them or something?" 

Starrk raised an eyebrow. "What do you think we're here for?" he asked, sounding mildly surprised. "After we take these two back Aizen-sama will probably give them to Octava. I go on a lot of missions like this; he likes to collect rare and dangerous creatures for use in his experiments." 

Grimmjow went cold. "Aizen said I could keep this one," he said slowly, looking back at Ichigo. "He only wants that one." He motioned toward the beast. 

"Ah, did he?" Starrk said hesitantly. 

"Are you saying he lied?" Grimmjow asked dangerously. 

"My orders were to capture them," said Starrk with a shrug. "It's none of my business what he does with them after that." 

That was not what Grimmjow wanted to hear. 

"...You should go down to the river," he suggested, allowing none of the turmoil Starrk had sparked within him to affect his voice. 

"Ah?" 

"You said we're almost out of clean bandages, right?" said Grimmjow. "You should go back to that river we crossed yesterday and wash them. I'll keep an eye on the prisoners." 

Starrk frowned at him. "Are you sure?" he said hesitantly. "You're still in pretty bad shape; I should-" 

"I'm fine," Grimmjow insisted. "Go wash the bandages. You can refill the waterskins while you're at it. These guys won't be waking up anytime soon, anyway." 

Starrk stared at him for a long moment with an uncertain expression, but at last he shrugged and said, "I guess that's not the worst idea. It'll take me about an hour to get back there, though, so I'll be gone for a while. Are you sure?" 

"I'm sure," Grimmjow snapped. "And I'm thirsty, so hurry up." 

Starrk sighed. "Shout if you need me, okay? I have good hearing so I'll probably hear you even if I'm not that close." 

Grimmjow nodded and Starrk finally left him alone. He waited until the Primera had gone and then used his good arm to carefully pull Ichigo over his shoulder. With his injuries sapping his strength it was difficult to lift him, but he grit his teeth and made his way to the other side of the clearing before letting him down with a grunt. Sitting so close to Ichigo's "brother" had been setting his teeth on edge. He sank down with his back against a tree and settled the redhead in his lap, holding him carefully to avoid aggravating his injuries. 

Could he really trust Aizen to keep his word? He hadn't given it much thought before, but Starrk's suggestion had unsettled him. What would he do if he got back to headquarters and Aizen tried to take Ichigo away from him? 

He didn't even want to think about that, so instead he focused on the feeling of the boy's warm body pressed against him. It felt so good to have him in his arms, so _right_. No matter what the future held, he couldn't imagine letting this beautiful creature go. If Aizen didn't like it then he could go fuck himself. 

Ichigo's face was peaceful in sleep, and Grimmjow's gaze was drawn to his slightly open mouth. He hadn't tried to kiss the boy last time, wary of getting bitten, but there was nothing to stop him from doing it now. 

He tilted Ichigo's head up and bent down a bit, hesitating slightly before pressing their lips together... 

...and... 

Wow. 

Grimmjow had only kissed a handful of the women he'd been with, and it had never felt anything like _this_. So warm, so soft ... he moaned and flicked his tongue out to taste the boy's lips, burying his hand in his hair and pressing the unconscious redhead against him harder. 

Ichigo tasted like perfection. 

He never wanted to come up for air. 

***** 

There was something strange about Sexta's fascination with the more colorful Kurosaki boy, Starrk reflected as he neared the sound of rushing water. The way he'd hovered over the young man earlier suggested that his feelings ran deeper than simple lust. He was actually a bit hesitant to leave him alone with the boy, but given the state of his injuries he figured the other man couldn't get up to too much trouble during the short time he'd be away. 

Starrk would have had to have been blind not to have noticed how attractive Kurosaki Ichigo was, so he could see why Sexta might have been drawn to him. However, the man seemed almost obsessed, and Starrk couldn't help but be a little curious as to what the boy could possibly have done to inspire that sort of devotion in a man like Jaegerjaquez Grimmjow. 

In any case, Sexta was crazier than he'd thought if he really believed that Aizen-sama wouldn't take an interest in him. Once his master found out about the boy's ability he'd go straight to the labs, and Starrk hoped that his fellow Espada would have the sense not to put up a fuss. 

It would really be a shame if the new Sexta had to be put down so quickly. Despite his flaws, he was much more tolerable than the previous one. 


End file.
